Solid Fluidity
by barbex
Summary: AU, starts before ME1. Jane Shepard and Garrus Vakarian fall in love before the events of ME1. Has developed way more romantic sparkles and drama than originally intended. Garrus's POV, his work at C-Sec and the case of Saren as a criminal investigation. Come for the smut and stay for the story. Updates about every two weeks, rated M. Awesome cover image by Spyke1985.
1. Chapter 1

_Welcome to my little story. For you new readers, I want to apologize for the bland and generic writing in the first few chapters, it get's better at around chapter 6. So please, stick with it, I promise the writing will get much, much better and there will be loads of romance and sex. Thank you._

_Warning: I use the words penis and vagina._

* * *

"Garrus - you're on watch in the Choras Den alcove tonight!"

Garrus Vakarian gave a friendly if slightly hesitant nod towards his superior and stacked up the pads that he had been working on. He was still the rookie on the team, didn't yet get assigned to the more exciting and dangerous jobs on C-Sec. Not that he complained, inexperienced as he was he could see why he didn't get the dangerous wards to patrol but he was just slightly bored with the simple watch jobs. But at least it was better than this desk job shuffling datapads like he had done for his first three weeks at C-Sec.

The Choras Den alcove was a hidden and not quite so secret watchpost above the dance floor. Through semi transparent windows that appeared to be dark glass panes viewed from the inside of the club. Garrus's job was to watch over the people in the club. He was supposed to see and sense trouble brewing before it escalated and interfere and call for backup when necessary.

This was the third night that Garrus sat on his watch post above the dancers and so far nothing whatsoever had happened. He began to wonder if all the stories of the dangerous mobs on the Citadel were just exaggerated because all he ever saw were some drunks who needed to be reminded that some females were just not interested in them and that the dancers were not up for "grabs". That kind of stuff was easily handled by the club's bouncers.

He had been at C-Sec for four weeks now, leaving a promising start of a career in the military on Palaven as a favour to his father. For the hundredth time he asked himself if he should have done what he wanted and stayed in the military, trained as a sniper and tech expert instead of following his father's example in the C-Sec force. He even had gotten an invitation for Spectre training and was about to accept when his father talked him out of it and blocked any follow-up contact. He knew that his father did all his meddling in his personal affairs not only because he despised Spectres but to make his mother happy. Garrus let out an involuntary sigh, his mother was a soft hearted woman, very attached to him and his sister and for all the cold and calculated behaviour his father usually showed, the possibility to see his bondmate hurt over their children was unbearable to him. He did everything he could to find safe places for their children to work and live and the dangerous life of a Spectre was just unthinkable.

So Aetius Vakarian used his old connections as one of C-Secs most decorated officers to ensure a position for Garrus on the Citadel and a job as a technical engineer for his sister Solana at Armax Arsenal in Cipritine on Palaven. They both didn't think of rejecting these positions, his father had done well and ensured the safety of his family in the best way possible. A caring father was not to be questioned by his children for that. Such was the turian way.

Garrus leaned back on his chair and stretched his legs, trying to find a comfortable position after having sat in front of the window for over an hour already. It was a slow night in the club and everything looked quiet, so Garrus decided to use the restroom while he could. He opened the door to the hallway a bit to let his eyes adjust to the bright light outside of the room, the last time he had almost ran someone over practically blinded by the light.

This time something else stopped him from stepping through the door. There were two humans in the hallway, a male and a female, as far as he could tell. Humans visited the Citadel quite frequently and a lot of them lived on the Citadel, one of the wards was almost exclusively human. Before Garrus had joined C-Sec and moved to the Citadel he had never seen a human in the flesh, all he knew about them he learned from the vids during his military training. They were an interesting species, endlessly curious and demanding. And every single one of them seemed to be different from the other. Diversity seemed to be the main human trait.

His instructors during his military had showed them vids from the Relay-314-incident and brought in veterans to talk about their experience in the war. They emphasized how every human was different and how even in a rigid military system like the Alliance Navy humans still acted as individuals sometimes even disobeying orders to act on their own without repercussions as long as the results were good. Garrus remembered the gasps of surprise at that from the soldiers around him and how he thought that maybe, just maybe these individual actions weren't all that bad if the humans managed to hold out on the overwhelming force of the turian military with their small troops like they had on Shanxi. He never voiced those thoughts aloud, those were definitely not the Turian way.

Shaking his head to get out of these memories Garrus wondered if he should just walk past the humans in the hallway but he stayed hidden in the darkness of the room and couldn't stop watching through the gap.  
The two humans in the hallway looked like they were trying to eat each other, that was definitely not covered in the vids he had seen. But he remembered reading something about kissing that was done with those flexible mouths the humans had so that must be what they were doing there. Garrus had never been all that interested in humans but he kept watching the couple. They both were Alliance military, they both looked strong and had the Alliance insignia on their shirts and pants. But there was something off about their movements like they didn't agree with each other.

The man had light brown fur and was slightly taller than the woman. Her fur had the brightest red he had ever seen on any creature and he wondered if it was artificial. She pressed the man against the wall and was clearly the more demanding of the two. She was biting his neck, his lips and her whole body pressed into him and one of her legs wrapped around his. She looked like a strong female, moving with purpose like an attractive turian woman would. Garrus thought she was very sexy and that surprised him because he had never even considered human females as attractive.

The man seemed to not appreciate her demanding behaviour, he looked a bit uncomfortable. Maybe he was just too drunk or tired but Garrus had the distinct feeling that he didn't like the feeling of being overpowered by the female. She sensed it too and pulled back from him, biting her lower lip. She didn't look mad, her mouth was pulled wide, Garrus remembered from the "Introduction to Alien Expressions vid" that this was a "grin". As she stepped back she looked up to the flustered man and when she spoke Garrus was surprised how deep her voice was.

"As nice as this is, I think we have to stop now. Why don't you go back to the bar, I'll be back in a little while?" It sounded to Garrus like she was letting him down gently, giving him an out without making him feel rejected. The guy looked relieved and mumbled something incomprehensible and almost ran down the stairs into the bar.

The woman adjusted her clothes and let out a little sigh when she suddenly turned around and looked directly into the darkness of the surveillance room where Garrus was standing.  
"Well, C-Sec-Blue, did you like the show?" she asked with a smile and Garrus was surprised how different her face suddenly looked, all soft and bright. Then he felt like he had been caught at something illegal and almost closed the door in reflex but he stopped himself. She had already seen him and the alcove entry wasn't exactly advertised but it wasn't really a secret either. Closing the door and hiding in the dark room would have been silly now.

Before he could answer she had stepped through the gap and stood right in front of him, her red fur bright alight from the light behind her. He towered over her but she did not appear to be intimidated by him. He realized that he hadn't answered her question and spread his mandibles in a grin. "Well, Alliance-Red, I must say I've never seen a female of your kind to be so - demanding. It looked … interesting..." He stopped and his subharmonics trilled confused. _What am I trying to say here?_

She stepped even closer and her smile got even wider. Her face was directly in front of him and she looked over his mandibles, his eyes and his mouth and he wondered how well humans could see in the dark and if she really saw him. Behind her the door closed and the room was suddenly completely dark again. He could still see her outline and her eyes but she looked around confused and grabbed his upper arms with surprising strength.

"Can't you see in the dark?" he asked with a rumble, trying to sound reassuring. But he wasn't sure if she could even hear his subharmonics. She had his arms in an iron grip and without his armor she might have hurt him. She was stronger than he had initially thought.

"No, it's too dark, can you still see me?" Her voice sounded strong and Garrus realized that she was careful but not afraid.

"I can just see your outline, I'm sorry, I'll turn a light on, I just have to step over there..."

"No, leave it dark, my eyes have already adjusted a bit, I can see the blue light from your visor. I think … maybe this is a nice way to … explore …"

One hand had left his arm and he felt her many fingertips trace lightly over his face, mapping his mouthplates, stroking and squeezing his mandibles and then she ghosted over his fringe and Garrus almost lost his balance. The whole situation was suddenly very erotic and he felt the need to touch her face like she had touched his.

The first feeling of her skin against the bud of his talons almost shocked him, it felt softer than the finest Asari silk. He wondered if only her face had such soft skin, surely the fearless human warriors of Shanxi could not have been so soft! His hand moved to her shoulder and slipped under the fabric there and still that utterly soft skin continued.  
He had to ask, "Are you this soft all over?" and he heard her chuckle. "Yes, my armored turian, that's what human skin feels like all over our bodies."  
"How did your species even survive?"

Her mouth was suddenly very close to the soft skin of his throat and her breath was ghosting over it. "Do you really want to discuss this now?"

A deep rumble rolled through him. "No."

"How about you take off that armor?" She was still so very close him, her hands moving lightly over and under his fringe and her many fingers were almost disorienting. He hesitated for a moment, he was still on duty and being caught without armor with a human female doing whatever this moment will lead to after the first month on the job sounded like a very bad idea. But then he smelled her and he just had to nuzzle into her fur, taking in her scent and his hands seemed to move on their own, releasing latches and piece by piece his armor clattered to the floor.

Without that barrier between them, the woman suddenly moved close to him again and became just as demanding as she had been with the man out in the hallway. Her mouth moved over his throat, nibbling and biting his skin. She pressed her body against him and Garrus' back bumped against the wall and the woman touched him everywhere. Her nimble fingers found the clasps in his underarmor and with lightning speed she had pushed the fabric away and stroked his plates. Her fingers traced the plates and stroked the skin between them, her blunt teeth were on him everywhere and he felt like he was about to explode from pleasure and desire.

She must have noticed how much he liked her actions just from the sounds he made and she payed attention to his reactions, tested stroking different areas with different strength and just when he thought it couldn't get any better she used her short and blunt talons to scratch with surprising strength over his plates. He growled loudly and grabbed her waist, stroking her sides and his hips snapped against hers. She giggled and said something about him purring like a cat but he didn't really had the sense to listen.

He nuzzled her neck where her throat and her shoulder formed an elegant curve and he noticed that she somehow had gotten rid of all her clothing without him even noticing. It probably should have worried him how she messed with his sense of awareness but in his mind was only room for the desire to get closer to her. His plates had loosened a while ago and he felt his erection growing. He could just hope that she wanted this as well because he was rapidly losing the ability to think straight.

His nuzzling and stroking seemed to get approval from her, evidenced by a loud moan and the way she was arching her back was probably a good sign too. He found himself looking at the mounds on her front and stroked one with his hand while he still held her waist with the other hand. She moaned and moved her hips against him in a wonderfully erotic move and he stroked the incredible soft mound again for that reaction.

The little nub in the middle of the mound looked interesting and as his hands were already busy he experimentally licked over it with his tongue and she gasped and moaned as her whole body moved over him like fluid. Her fingers pressed under his fringe, whether she knew of this spot before or found it by pure luck didn't matter, her fingers pressed and stroked the bundle of nerves and the sensation went through his whole body like an electric current. His knees buckled and they tumbled to the floor and suddenly she was all over him, biting, scratching and her hips were gyrating against his and he could feel her warmth and her wetness through the fabric of his pants.

She felt like fluid again, her soft skin and her many fingers all over his plates and he wanted to touch everything of her. Her waist, her ass, the softness and the ripple of strong muscles under her skin. It was all so different, so alien but so very erotic.  
She moaned and her voice was even deeper with a rough growl when she spoke: "You're so hot, so very hot! And you feel so strong and you're not as spiky as I thought."

"Spiky?" Garrus wondered if he should feel insulted.

"Yeah, I thought your plates would feel like metal or like stone, they have this metallic shine to them." She rubbed against his erection straining in his pants again, clearly enjoying the contact. "But your plates feel more like rubber and the skin between them is soft like mine. I wonder what your penis feels like."

She started to tug impatiently at his pants as he stared at her. He knew an invitation when he heard one and he almost ripped his pants on his spurs, pulling them down urgently.  
His erection sprang free from it's confinement and he sighed in relief only to gasp in pleasure when her _oh so soft _fingers were suddenly all over his penis, stroking, rubbing, grabbing him strongly and softly at the same time.

He couldn't wait anymore, he threw her on her back and almost thrust into her when he realized that he had no idea if human vaginas were built like turian ones. He couldn't really see it but he felt around with the buds of his talons. She was even softer there and there was some fur. That was a bit weird but then he felt her soft lips and her wetness and he quickly decided to just accept the fur. As he was stroking around her labia her reactions got even stronger, her movements jerky especially when he stroked a little nub on top. It was very strange but her moans turned into pants and the whimpers from her were just too delicious.

He kept stroking and rubbing that nub and used his other hand to stroke from her mound down her waist and up again and then he went down the other side. She never stopped moving, her hips jerking, rubbing against him with her legs, her many toes stroking over his back and it was like she had a second pair of hands. And then suddenly she started panting faster and the pants turned into whimpers and then her back arched completely away from the floor and she screamed in ecstasy. It was the greatest sound Garrus had ever heard.

After a minute she seemed to come back to her senses and suddenly he found himself on his ass, the back of his cowl against the wall and she was touching him and suddenly there was a condom, _where the hell did that come from?_ and before he could catch his breath she had put the condom on him and straddled him and lowered herself down on him. Slowly, maddenly slow she took him in and the feeling was so intense, her vagina so wet and tight and there were muscles there grabbing him … he could only growl in pleasure.

She took him in completely, rubbing her nub against him and then she moved up again, stopping just before his tip would leave her warm wetness and then she moved down again and he could see that she looked directly into his eyes and she moved up and down again, increasing her speed, demanding, grabbing his hips for leverage. Garrus couldn't take lying still anymore, he flipped them over and slammed into her. He pressed his nose against her throat, inhaling her scent and he thrust into her faster and faster as he felt her tighten even more, her muscles felt like she was milking him, grabbing him from the inside and she made those delicious sounds again, gasping and then screaming and he couldn't hold it anymore and came with an uncontrolled roar, throwing his head back as he spilled into her and almost blacked out.

His last shred of sense reminded him not to crush her with his weight and he rolled to her side, ignoring the condom hanging heavily down, completely unable to move any further.

_Hot damn! Spirits of all things!_

The woman lying on her side beside him was still panting and absently stroking the side of his face. He couldn't quite see her expression but he felt confident that she was just as satisfied as him. Suddenly her mouth was right on his and the soft lips were caressing his mouthplates. He trilled slightly insecure, unsure what she expected from him. She moved away from his mouth and those soft lips kissed his throat and somehow this fondling felt almost too intimate for fast sex between strangers. A strange feeling started in his chest and spread to his gizzard.

She sighed against his throat. "I have to say, C-Sec-Blue, that was amazing! Quite unexpected. And a wonderful way to end my shore leave." She nuzzled his neck and he wondered if humans had a good sense of smell. Could she smell him? Would she recognize his smell? He inhaled her scent, vowing to never forget it.

He realized that he wanted to see her again, wanted to know her.  
"What is your name?"

"No names. I'm leaving for my training tomorrow and we will probably never see each other again." Her voice was quiet. She turned away and sat up to dress again. He almost didn't hear her whisper, "We can never have this anyway - this … you're a turian, I'm ..."

She dressed in the dark with the efficiency of a well trained soldier and was at the door before he had even found his underarmour.

"Good bye, C-Sec-blue." The light from the hallway spilled into the room from behind her and her red fur looked like chemical flames on her head.

"Good bye, Alliance-red. Spirits watch over you."

The door closed behind her and he was plunged into darkness again. He found his pants on the floor and began to put them on when he realized that he still had the condom on and his penis seemed to be convinced that the action would continue soon. With a frustrated groan he removed the condom and willed his erection to go away until he was back behind his plates.

He slumped back against the wall, unwilling to move. He was annoyed at himself, _why had he let her go?_ He was sure that he would never forget her and the great sex they had had. He should probably find a willing turian female for some traditional turian sex to get these deviant memories of amazing sex with an alien out of his head. How soft she was, how she moved like fluid, how her tiny talons scratched his plates, how her teeth had felt, how her inside muscles had grabbed him...

Garrus held his head in his hands with a groan. He was so screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

The halls of C-Sec were always busy and loud but Garrus had no trouble making his voice heard.  
"Johnson? Get over here, I got something!"

"You're gonna have to wait just like everybody else, birdy." Johnsons voice had no trouble either to rise above the noise of C-Sec. Humans had only one set of vocal cords and their upper body seemed to be too small to act like a good resonating sound box but Garrus had learned that humans could still raise their voices to impressive levels.

Garrus started to move towards Johnson's office, loud music spilled out from it and Garrus knew that Johnson was busily darting around his office right now, probably working on three or ten things at once. Johnson was one of the few humans working at C-Sec and proved once again that humans were the most diverse and adaptable species on the Citadel. He could be slow and phlegmatic, falling asleep during a meeting with Pallin and suddenly something would grab his attention and he would talk faster than a Salarian, thinking up ideas a mile a minute. That's when Garrus started calling him a salarian pyjack hopped up on stims.

"What's my salarian pyjak working on now?"

"Monkey, Garrus, not pyjak, monkey. If you want to insult me at least do it right."

Garrus clicked his mandibles at that, the remark reminding him very much of something his father would say.  
"Fine, Salarian _monkey_ on stims, what do you have?"

"Oh Garrus, you won't believe it, remember the stash of weapons we busted two weeks ago, remember the volus, we couldn't keep him, his lawyer got him out and we couldn't pin him to the weapons cause there was no proof that he had rented the warehouse and you weren't exactly gentle with the guy that didn't help our case either I have to say you might want to rethink your methods cause if we could have kept that guy a little longer he might have told us about this guy Verringer, a human by the way and -"  
Even Johnson couldn't defy basic biology and he actually had to take a breath, giving Garrus the chance to interrupt his ramblings and take a look at the datapad Johnson was holding.

"Breathe man, breathe! Let me catch up with you." Garrus switched the display to citadel common and skimmed the notes and pictures that Johnson had collected.  
"So you found that this volus, what was his name, Kata Lon?" "Kata Lem"  
"Kata Lem, alright, so you found a connection to Verringer and he rented the warehouse?"

"Ah Garrus, my impatient friend, that would be too easy, wouldn't it? Of course they hid it better, no obvious connections. But Lem has a little company beside his main trading between Palaven and the Citadel, he also has a bunch of bodyguards he is renting out and one of them is called 'Mad-Ver' who just happens to be the brother of one Karl Verringer who is just this friendly guy you call when you need a discrete job done and he is partner in a storage business owned by Belethia Gars'ada who just happened to rent a warehouse but strangely enough never used it."

Again, Johnson needed to take a breath and Garrus managed to add get another word in.  
"So Belethia Gars'ada, she's asari, right? Why do you ignore her involvement, what makes you suspect this guy Verringer? And don't tell me it's because he's human, you know you don't have to prove to me that you don't favor your own species over others."

Garrus knew Johnson for almost a year and they had been teamed up together for about seven month now and he knew that Johnson was the most unprejudiced person out there. He basically considered every person to be a treacherous bastard until proven otherwise and he made absolutely no distinction for different species.

"Belethia Gars'ada hasn't been on the Citadel for over a year, I'm sure that Karl Verringer is running the business in her name, using it to cover up his own dealings. Gars'ada's company had no problem with C-Sec, nothing even remotely shady going on until ten months ago. Shortly after Gars'ada had left the Citadel things started coming up, suspicions of slave trading, Red Sand trafficking, nothing that could be proven but the business is definitely not clean anymore. There is some big shit going on, birdman!"

Johnson's eyes darted around the office until he found his coffee cup and went to a little coffee maker on a shelf to pour himself a fresh cup of the vile beverage. Garrus used the quiet to look over the information Johnson had gathered. It wasn't much but better than nothing. They needed some real stuff to actually arrest this guy but usually a bit of digging turned things up once you knew where to look.

Garrus had become a skilled investigator, he had a talent for digging into a case and find the connections, something that his father had also done very well. Garrus had to reluctantly admit that his father had been right in pushing him to C-Sec even though he missed shooting his sniper rifle more often and his tech skills weren't as useful as he would have wished. But he was a good investigator and together with Johnson he had busted some really bad guys and closed some big cases. His only problem was that he kept busting criminals only to see them walk away because of some regulation. Not to mention the desk work was killing him.

Garrus realized that Johnson was looking at him, waiting for his input.  
"I see the connection, monkeyman." He spread his mandibles in a wide grin, giving the insult right back. "But it's not enough yet and you know it. We can bust neither Gars'ada nor Verringer with this, we need some solid proof."

"I know Garrus, I know. But there is something big going on, I can feel it in my gut!"

"Your gut? Are you hurt? No, wait, that's another one of those expressions again, it means that you have a feeling about this. Johnson, we can't arrest anybody based on your feeling." Garrus shook his head, disappointed.

"Yes I know but if we look around this warehouse and another one that Gars'ada's company has rented maybe we can find something to bring Verringer in for some questions. I ask him and you stare at him and do your polygraph thing that you're so good at and we find out how he is involved."

Garrus had never told anybody why he had gotten so interested in humans and their expressions or why he kept looking for bright red hair when he saw a bunch of humans. After that special night in the Choras Den alcove he had begun to read up on humans, their faces, their anatomy. He read and watched vids about human history and customs and at some point he came across vids about human forensics and crime fighting. He found instructions about interrogation techniques and learned about facial expressions and micro-expressions.

Garrus found it fascinating how much happened in a human face, flexible as it was and while they could control most of their expressions, it was impossible to hide those micro-expressions. Tiny facial movements that only appeared for a fraction of time could tell an attentive watcher whether the person was telling the truth or not.

That knowledge became essential at C-Sec because as it turned out the famous adaptive capabilities of humans could also be applied very successfully to a life of crime. Most C-Sec officers were turians and used to dealing with turians. Turians were bad liars, most of them would eventually reveal any truth if pressured enough, their subharmonics usually betraying them quickly. But even the most skillful turian liars, who could clamp down any revealing trill were still like toddlers caught with the hand in the cookie jar compared to humans.  
Humans could lie. Really lie.

Garrus had seen humans tell him the most amazing stories straight to his face and without anything in their faces negating that story. Only after watching the recording later could he find subtle signs that betrayed them. He had gotten so good at spotting those expressions that he hardly interrogated suspects himself anymore, he just watched and rewatched while his partner asked the questions. The had a good routine going with that.

Garrus looked at the evidence again and at a picture of Karl Verringer, showing a man with light skin, his fur _- no, hair _- cropped short and hard eyes that looked aggressively at the camera. Yes, he would like to hear what that guy had to say, he probably had some "interesting" stories to tell.

"Alright Johnson, how do you always say? Let's find a big stick and poke around with it until the rats run out!"

"Yes man! I like that plan!" Johnson grabbed some his weapons and was about to run out the door when Garrus stopped him.

"Hang on, first you have to take a look at the stuff I found" he said and Johnson looked confused at him for a second and Garrus grabbed him by his arm, dragging him with him, "I happen to be a good investigator too and I have something, so come on."

There was no loud music in Garrus office but other than that it looked just as chaotic as Johnsons, data pads strewn around and at least five half-empty cups of cava balancing on top of them. The only area that looked clean and organized was the weapons bench next to the weapons locker. A disassembled sniper rifle was lying on top of the bench, all of it's parts spread around it in neat piles, three different cleaning solvents and gun oils arranged in a row on top of it.

They both ignored the weapons bench, stepping into the room. Garrus handed two old cava cups to Johnson to put away and he almost wanted to set them on the weapons bench but thought better of it after a fierce look from Garrus and put them on the floor, the only empty surface to be found. Garrus then handed him two data pads and gave his partner some time to look the information over before he started to talk.

"So far we found three victims in the lower wards who were missing most of their body parts, so we did assume that there is some black market trading with organs going on, right? But here's what's strange, I had the pathologist check the victims and he found some inconsistencies. Some kind of residue in the nervous system resulting from extreme stress and like the bodies were overtaxed almost till breaking point."

Johnson scrunched up his face, deep in thought. "None of these guys looked athletic or anything, I mean what could they have even done that was so taxing to their bodies?"

"I don't know. Another thing: I put out some feelers, asked around in the clinics about transplants and I got some disturbing information. There seems to be an increase with available organs but they seem to be ... kind of low quality, one of doctors called it." Garrus shuddered slightly, thinking back to that conversation. 'Scrap meat' the doctor had called the organs, 'causing more problems than solving'.

Johnson looked up. "If someone is taking out organs to sell them then there has to be place on the Citadel where that is done", he said. "Something like a lab, an operating table, they need equipment, coolant to preserve the organs. Maybe we can find a lead if we look at the suppliers."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Garrus nodded, already typing out orders on his Omni-tool for a search algorithms to see who had bought coolant agents recently.  
"Let's run some searches on that but while we wait for results we do our poking around in the warehouse. We need to get a warrant for that -" Garrus growled out his annoyance at that and he saw Johnson flinch at the sound. _Yes, humans can hear subharmonics._ "- and while we're at it let's see what other real estate Gars'ada has recently acquired."

Johnson grinned at Garrus, "I'm pretty sure it is your turn now for the warrant-asking-walk-of-shame!" He didn't even try to hide his amusement as Garrus clamped his mandibles tight against his face in annoyance. He hated having to ask Pallin for warrants, Pallin always wanted to know every little detail about a case, he never trusted his judgement. Sometimes he wished he could just skip a getting a warrant, just act on his own perception like a Spectre.

Garrus scratched his fringe and sang a sigh. "Yes, alright, I take it to Pallin and how about we get some lunch then while we wait for the warrant?"

Johnson grinned at him. "I like the way you think, birdy. And I won't even complain when your food tries to run away from your plate before you can eat it."

Garrus sighed. "It's not like I could even _get_ living kalkenda on the Citadel. Anyway, I'll see you outside."

Johnson laughed and walked away and Garrus went to Pallins office.

_Yes, I know nothing much happening and there isn't even sex! I'm sorry, I wanted to set up how Garrus lived and worked before the craziness starts. So please, just bear with me, action scenes are coming up soon._  
_Thanks to TheLadyKellet for beta-reading, go read her stories cause they're awesome._


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm so glad that people actually read my ramblings and seem to like it. This the first time I've written anything ever and reading that people like it makes me giddy with happiness. So to everyone who put this story on alert or favourited it and especially to my reviewers: Thank you, thank you, thank you!_

* * *

Garrus crouched and almost crawled around yet another tight corner to peer into the third hidden compartment they've found in the warehouse. The warehouse had looked normal enough from the outside but the more they looked around, the more suspicious the whole thing began to look. There were offices and counters and displays set up and everything practically screamed "normal business" to anybody looking at it.

But Johnson and Garrus weren't fooled by the front displayed. It only took them half an hour of looking around to find the first hidden containers, full of illegal weapons tech and one call to Headquarters later the warehouse was crawling with C-Sec officers. Johnson was leading a team into the basement, gleefully ignoring the annoyed looks of the turian officers who still had a problem with a human leading them.

Garrus took a another team to the second level and already had left half of his team to catalogue the contents of the first hidden compartment they had come across. There had been at least one full container of Red Sand and some other drug they didn't even recognize. Squinting into the darkness of behind the hidden door near the floor he knelt on, Garrus was careful to recheck the filters on his helmet. With this much Red Sand floating around here he had ordered everyone to wear their protective gear and keep the purifiers running inside. His visor didn't show him any life signs but the room he was peering in was huge, and some kind of shielding crackled around the edges.

"There is a big area here but there has to be another entrance, this can't be it. Look around, scan for cloaking tech. There has to be a door somewhere here. I see big containers, they didn't just materialize there."

The other three turians with him lit up their Omni-Tools and scanned the walls, Garrus used the programs on his specialized visor looking for the telltale signs of cloaking. Fizzly edges, ghostly mirror-images, those were the usual signs. The more expensive the tech the harder it was to find it. Garrus began to grow nervous and excited at the same time. How advanced was this tech if they couldn't find it even with the best programs.

The hunt was on.

Garrus could feel it, that stream of adrenaline coursing through his veins, the excitement of the hunt. They were coming up to something big, he could sense it, almost touching his spirit. The rest of his team was humming the same tune as him, subharmonics chiming with each other.

"Batius, check the container over there, I'm getting some strange optical divergences there."

"Yes, there is something ... like the container is there but isn't."

"That's it, we got it! Come on, overload that _incanti_, go!"

They cued up their Omni-Tools synchronising the overloads when his visor flashed him an alarm about energy signatures flaring up and he could just call out "Trap!" when his vision turned white and for a blink of a second everything seemed to be frozen. He saw Batius trying to shield his eyes as the chemical flames engulfed him, he saw Tarten drop to the ground behind him, scarcely protected by his friend. Tinlenus fell backwards, his eyes fixed on Garrus, looking for help he couldn't give and then he was knocked back from the blast with the force of a skycar hitting him square in the chest.

He felt his armor crack on his back from the force of his crash to the ground and he didn't even hear the sound of the explosion, the crash having knocked him out for few seconds. As his senses came back he looked up to find the room transformed into something like a warzone. He slammed his comm to call for help but could only let out a violent cough as suddenly the pain rushed up and his cowl seemed to constrict around his lungs.

"Medic!" he managed to yell out in between coughs and tried to get up. On his hands knees he crawled over to Batius and Tarten, their armor smoking, their bodies unmoving. Tinlenus had somehow avoided the worst of the blast and was also moving over to Batius, his eyes behind his cracked helmet wide in panic. He was keening in worry, his voices screeching. His subvocals were clearly crying for a mate in danger, Garrus had had no idea that they were so close.

Tinlenus reached for Batius' arm and Garrus stopped him before he could grab onto him to move him. Garrus was no medic but Batius was severely injured and moving him without a containment field around his bones and organs was probably not a good idea. He tried to turn on his Omni-Tool to scan his colleagues but it seemed to be fried. Without his Omni-Tool he could only look over everyones armor. Batius armor was burned all over as much as Tartens but they had no visible cracks. But they both had been much closer to the explosion than Garrus and he already felt like he had been thrown around in his armor by an enraged krogan.

Suddenly Johnson was screaming in his ear.  
"Garrus! Garrus are you there? Come on man, talk to me!"

"Yeah, I'm here, I'm..." Another cough and a surge of pain made him fall flat on the side of his fringe again. "Just get here, get a medic here..."

The sound of footsteps and the sight of many blue C-Sec armor assured him that things were taken care of and he let exhaustion wash over him and welcomed the darkness of unconsciousness to take away the pain.

* * *

Garrus woke up to a bright light shining in his eyes and the smell of medigel. A doctor with green markings on his face looked at him disapprovingly and Garrus wondered vaguely what he could have done to make the man so mad at him.

"We'll keep him on the monitors and the pain meds until his cowl has healed. Please keep me informed of his progress, Dr. Michel." The turian doctor spoke to a tiny human woman standing next to his sickbed.  
The first doctor turned away and Garrus followed him with his eyes and saw him turn his attention to Tarten in the bed next to him. He looked around but couldn't see Batius and Tinlenus anywhere. He looked at the tiny human doctor and tried to make a friendly face.

"I'm not sure what I did to make him so mad." He was relieved that his speech didn't sound slurred. The turian doctor left the room with determined steps.

The human doctor answered with an unusual accent. "Oh, despite from getting yourself injured you didn't do anything wrong. You had your team all wear helmets and that probably saved everyones life, at least ..." She stopped and looked over through the glass door into another room. Garrus followed her look and saw the two other turians from his team on sickbeds. Tinlenus was sitting up, looking worried at his friend or mate or whatever in the other bed. Garrus trilled a question and caught the confused look from the doctor. He coughed and hesitated to actually ask the question but he had to know.

"How are Batius, Tarten and Tinlenus?"

"Tarten is here in the room with you, he has many broken bones and some burns, we sedated him to protect him from the pain. Tinlenus is a little better off, he only broke his arm and burned his left leg. Both will most probably be fine after they healed for a few weeks. Batius ..." She hesitated and Garrus braced himself for the bad news.

"He is injured very much, almost all of his skin - eh plating - got burned, his armor fell off him like ash. He has a head injury and is in a coma. We are not sure if he will wake up. Even if he does, we are not sure if he will make a full recovery. I'm very sorry, Mr. Vakarian, we do what we can."

Garrus fell back to his side. "I should have been more careful, I should have known that there would be traps." Garrus groaned and closed his eyes. He was startled by the small human hand on his upper arm trying to comfort him.

The doctor had a shy smile on her face and her voice was high. "I don't know about the situation that led to the explosion but without the helmets I'm sure none of you would have survived. And you didn't try to move Batius, that was good as well. You should sleep now, you broke a rib and have a crack in your cowl, you body needs some time to heal. "

Garrus closed his eyes and fell asleep after a few minutes.

* * *

When he woke up again, the Citadel was in it's night cycle. He looked around the room and saw his friend Frank Johnson sitting on a chair with his head resting against the wall. He seemed to be asleep. Garrus tried to sit up but his cowl was clearly not agreeing with him. A sharp stab of pain had him slump back on the bed and the noise woke up Johnson.

"Easy man, don't start any gymnastics just yet. You got a pretty bad crack on your front thing there!"

"It's called a cowl, you should know that."

"As if you guys bother to know what my body parts are called. Tinlenus still calls my hair fur."

They both fell quiet for a few minutes, both worried about their colleagues.

"What happened after I fell unconscious?" Garrus asked, knowing that his friend would have started to investigate right away.

"Well, after you fainted like a precious flower ..." Johnson grinned and Garrus let out an annoyed trill.  
"Alright, alright. You passed out right when my team and me came running in. For once those racist bastards listened to me and didn't move you guys, Gestver just applied medigel all around and I had the other guys scan the fuck out of everything. They found another bomb trap that would have killed all of us if we hadn't disarmed the detonator. The medics showed up with this cute little doctor from a clinic in the neighbourhood, a human woman, maybe you saw her, has a sexy little accent."

Garrus stopped his gushing, "You can flirt with her later, tell me more about the warehouse."

"Ok ok, this room you found behind the vent flap or whatever that was, well - we eventually found the door, an honest good old-fashioned secret door hidden behind a closet. There wasn't even electronic cloaking shit, I found it by scanning for airflow of all things. All the cloaking stuff was just there to cover the fucking bomb traps. The room was stuffed full of boxes and containers with drugs and weapons and all the illegal shit you could think about and we actually found a list of suppliers and buyers. Jackpot! Oh and get this, you remember that we wanted to look for cooling agents? Well, guess what we found?"

Garrus sat up with his weight on his elbows, despite the pain in his cowl. "They supplied the cooling stuff from that warehouse?"

"Lots and lots of the stuff. And tons of other medical supplies as well. Delivered to different names but all in close proximity to each other. Kind of stupid actually, trying to hide it but not really hiding it."

Garrus sighed, "If the bad guys never made stupid mistakes we would never catch any of them." He leaned back against the raised part of the bed.

"Yes, you're right. I checked out the area, had a coffee, talked to the store owners, you know, just sniffing around. Nothing obviously suspicious going on but the coffee guy told me about a biotech company in the area with lots of foot traffic, people of all specie walking in and coming out shortly later."

"Nothing wrong about that, Johnson."

"I know birdy but coffee guy is quite the observer and he saw the same people come back a few weeks later, looking sick and exhausted. Some of them he never saw come out of the building again."

"And you think those could be the dead bodies we found?"

"Hey, you never know! Coffee guy mentioned some of the people working there have lunch at his place every day, so I thought I'll hang around there for few days and see if I can chat up someone."

Garrus snorted. "You just hope for a cute girl to flirt with there."

"Cute or not, I will find someone to talk to. Find out what that company does besides what the sign on the front says."

"What _does _the sign on the front say?"

Johnson scrunched up his face. "It's a biotech company, working in artificially grown skin and cartilage. Quite successfully actually, they provide good skin supplements for humans, turians and others. Our friends Batius and Tarten may owe their life to those skin substitutes." They both looked over to Tarten in the next sickbed, still asleep. Batius had been moved to another room, Tinlenus was alone in the next room.

Garrus keened softly. His worry about his colleagues slowly turned into anger, someone needed to pay for this. "If they have something to do with this, we'll find a connection. We have to. Go ahead with your plan, find out what this place really does. But be careful, they could have legitimate reasons for all the cooling stuff." Garrus critically looked at the dark circles under Franks eyes.

"Oh, they get coolants on a regular basis, but it's not much. The difference is in the numbers." Johnson looked pleased about his work but he was clearly tired.

"Johnson get some sleep, you look like you're about to fall asleep right where you're sitting."

"Since when can you read humans so well, birdy?"

"Ever since you pyjak keep hanging around me."

Johnson grinned. "Monkey, birdman, monkey! But you're right, I'm gonna crash at home and get some sleep. You better get well, I get bored without you around."

Johnson took his hand in a strong grip and then left. Garrus closed his eyes, his mind turning all the information over and over in his head until he fell asleep.

* * *

Three days later Garrus was released from the hospital as the first of the injured group. Johnson kept him updated with messages while he was confined to bedrest at home. Now that the heavy duty painkillers from the hospital wore off and he could just take the normal stuff, his whole body ached all over. So Garrus spend most of his days and nights in his bed, raised to a half-sitting position and watched vids and read stuff on the extranet. He caught up with some popular shows and concluded that he hadn't really missed much.

He hated sitting around, resting his fringe on the top of his pillowroll. He needed to do something, anything, the stress from the last week had piled up and needed some release. Masturbation only took some of the edge off and it didn't really help that his "favourite" hand was still covered in a bandage.

Garrus had just found another vid with turian-male-human-female porn and he was slowly and a bit awkwardly working with his off-hand on his erection. Turian-human and turian-asari had quickly become his favourite porn after he had started to "research" the various alien sex deviations out there.

After the great experience with 'Alliance-Red' Garrus had decided that he should broaden his horizons even more. He didn't sleep around every night but he definitely had his fair share of sexual adventures. He tried sex with different species, many asari, some human females and there was some groping with a human male that never went anywhere. He also had a fling with a turian female but there were only a few living on the Citadel and most of them were already bonded. He even had an affair with a Salarian female who showed more sexual interest than some turian females he had met. There was also one adventure where he put on half of an enviro suit and linked it with a quarian who ran her nerve stimulation program between them. While feeling quite technical the sensations were not all that different from asari mind-pleasure.

He stayed away from Elcor and Hanar though, that would have just been weird. He almost had sex with a drell man but after falling unconscious from the hallucinogenic salvia and having to spend a whole day on a bad trip just from a bite to his neck he decided that he didn't have a gender barrier but he definitely had a species barrier when it came to drell.

He did like sex with asari but most of them didn't allow penetration, they found it unhygienic. They could give and receive pleasure with their minds so penetration wasn't really necessary. But Garrus liked the feeling of his penis enclosed in warmth and thought that pure mind pleasure was lacking something. Still, he didn't deny the "Embrace eternity"-sensations when he came across them.

Garrus kept watching the vid, slowly rubbing his erection. It was another First Contact War setting, a stable when it came to turian produced porn involving humans. A female sort-of-Alliance looking soldier had her hands bound behind her back and was interrogated by a turian commander. He was trying threats to get information from her but was unsuccessful. After a little while he changed tactics and started to lick her neck and her breasts with his tongue and the female shuddered with pleasure. Her hands were still bound and Garrus waited for the turian actor to release her hands, fondly remembering those deft and soft fingers on his plates. There was really no point in tying them up. Finally the commander released her hands and after a short struggle where she halfheartedly tried to escape she eventually submitted to the pleasure his tongue gave her and started to kiss him.

Garrus kept his eyes on the screen while his hand worked faster and his talons occasionally scratched the seams of his retreated plates. On the screen the actress went down on her knees and Garrus froze at the sight of the tiny woman with long hair kneeling in front of the turians impressive erection and kissing and licking his penis. _So that's what they meant with "Special deviant moves" on the description._

He almost couldn't believe his eyes and vaguely wondered if the woman didn't get hurt when she took part of the turians erection in her mouth. Whatever she was doing must have been amazing because the turian actor growled out his intense pleasure in some very real subharmonics and suddenly pushed her away to thrust into her and the look of desire in his eyes was too real to be just an act.

Garrus was fascinated by the display and had forgotten for a minute why he was actually watching the porn. His hand had stilled but his erection kept throbbing just from looking at the couple on screen, both of them now panting and screaming. Right when he remembered to move his hand again the doorbell chimed and he cursed loudly as he pulled up the camera picture.

Outside he saw an asari with white markings on her face that looked like they had been applied with a thick brush. Garrus knew her, she was one of the more regular night flings he had, a friend and sometimes a lover. They cared about each other but they weren't in it for a relationship, she was still a young maiden, eager to experience everything the galaxy had to offer.

Garrus send the key code to the door to open it and called out to the asari when she entered. "I'm in here, Dalinia, come in!"  
He turned off the screen and threw a blanket over himself. He wasn't embarrassed at the state of his arousal but he thought it to be slightly impolite to greet her with with his member standing to attention like that. She saw the state he was in right away and gave him a wide smile. Not wasting any time with small talk she licked his mandible and climbed over him. Garrus hissed in pain, even her slight weight was too much for his beaten body.

"I'm sorry" she whispered and slid to his right side.

"No, I'm sorry," he mumbled, "you have no idea how much I need that right now and I just can't!" he groaned his subvocals in annoyance. Dalinia put her hands to sides of his face and looked at him with a friendly smile.

"Relax, Garrus, let me help you. I'll be careful and you won't get hurt at all. Just relax."

She kissed his right mandible and Garrus let his shoulders relax and rested his fringe back on his pillowroll as her as eyes turned black and she whispered "Embrace eternity!"

The sensation of her mind rushed through his body, her touch from the inside igniting his nerves. Behind his closed eyes lights were rushing towards him, enclosing him, wrapping him in the feeling of a single touch engulfing his whole body. He felt her pleasure mix with his and her mind touched his inner desires, pulling them to the forefront, fulfilling them with bright intensity. Waves of pleasure rolled from his head to his loins and he felt her mind swimming through his veins and he _saw _his body alight with colorful streams of light and felt a warmth around his penis so intense that it almost hurt and a simple touch of his own hand was enough for him to spill all over his stomach and he felt and heard his asari friend moan as she reached the height of her pleasure herself.

With a sigh Dalinia's eyes returned to normal and she laid her head on his arm. Garrus stretched, he felt pleasantly satisfied and knew that he was now finally able to relax. He smiled at his friend "Thank you Dalinia, that was just perfect."

The asari looked at him with serious eyes and said "Garrus, I was worried about you."

"Huh? Didn't know you cared." Garrus looked at her slightly worried, their relationship had been pleasantly easy going and he really didn't want to change that.

Dalinia grinned, "Don't worry Garrus, I'm not ready for my matron years with you just yet." She nudged him on the side of his fringe and sat up so that she faced him.

"I was just ... you know the galaxy is a big place and we just sit here on the Citadel, shielded from everything. Why do we stay here? There is so much to see out there and we just sit here."

"Well right now you sitting here is quite enjoyable ..." Garrus stopped her hand from punching him on his arm and grinned at her, "... but I know what you mean. Why do you ask yourself that?"

She straightened her back and said resolutely "I'm going to leave, Garrus. I'm going to leave this safe haven and I'm going to see the galaxy. I found a position on a trade ship and I'm going to find out what I want from life. I just wanted to see you again before I leave tomorrow and you almost got yourself killed." She looked quite mad and Garrus thought that he should probably change the subject.

He leaned his head back and looked out the window to the artificial clouds on the artificial Citadel sky. "So you're trying to find your _consilium_."

"My what?" Dalinia looked at him questioningly.

"Your _consilium_. Every turian is raised to find his or her _consilium_ and follow it. Finding your _consilium_, finding your calling in life and trying to achieve it is the noblest goal of all."

Dalinia smiled, "Yes, that's what I want, to find my _consilium_, my purpose." She jumped up from the bed as if she was going to run out to the galaxy right away.

Garrus spread his mandibles in a wide grin, he was happy for his friend, happy that she was doing something with her life. He didn't know what his _consilium_ was but one day he was going to find it. Maybe he should leave the Citadel as well, travel the galaxy.  
But first he had to solve this damn case that had put him on bedrest, aching all over.

* * *

_There! Action and sex. Phew, I hope you like it, that was a beast to write. _

_I promise Shepard will turn up soon, I haven't forgotten her. And Saren and Nihlus... you will see. _

_Another thing:_  
_Does anybody have any idea how to describe time frames in MassEffect? I still use hours, minutes, days and stuff but all of those are based on this measly planet spinning and turning around our sun and that really doesn't work for a galaxy. So what do we use? Until I hear something better, I will use seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and months and year as fractions of time from each other but I will just assume there is a base system for these fractions set in a galaxy wide time frame. So an hour is not necessarily 60 minutes long (a base on 100 minutes per hour and 100 seconds per minute would make much more sense) and would not have the same absolute length in time. Yes, I worry about things like that._


	4. Chapter 4

Hello lovely readers, thank you for following the story.

* * *

Garrus and Johnson sat in one of the few cafes that served decent dextro and levo food eating lunch. They each ate something that looked suspiciously similar and was called Burger in Johnson's case and Garlefka in Garrus'. Even though Garrus knew that humans were quite capable of eating with the correct tools, Johnson had decided to eat his Burger with his hands, biting off huge chunks and chewing them. Since his friend usually had his reasons for doing things he didn't question it, apparently that's how burgers were meant to be eaten. He cut another piece off his Garlefka and stabbed it with his talon, raising it to his mouth.

Suddenly Johnson stared wide-eyed at some point to the right of Garrus shoulder, chewing and swallowing urgently. He swallowed so hard that Garrus could see the chunk of food moving down his throat. When he opened his mouth, pieces of food were still stuck to his teeth and Garrus winced slightly at that, he couldn't quite grasp all this chewing humans did if it didn't even get their teeth clean.

"Holy shit! That's the scariest turian I have ever seen!" Johnson almost jumped up from his chair and was straining his neck to look at the turians walking towards of one of the elevators on the Presidium. Garrus turned around to see what got him so exited and Johnson kept on babbling.

"That guy has the whitest plates I have ever seen, did he turn his bones inside-out? And what's with the long bones stretching back, you don't have that." He stared at Garrus like he was seeing him for the first time. "Is that artificial? None of you guys at C-Sec have those. And is that metal on his jaw? I mean mandible? Did he use a nail gun to staple his face back together?"

"Would you shut up for a second so I can answer all your questions?" Garrus grumbled annoyed. Of course he knew who that was, one of the most famous turians out there, he practically grew up on the stories about him.

"That's the most famous turian Spectre Saren. Renowned hero of the First Contact war and famous and infamous to be the most efficient and successful Spectre ever working for the council. He get's the job done no matter what and doesn't shy away from the dirty work." Garrus felt slightly uncomfortable praising the Spectre like that, there were some disturbing stories going around involving him and he wasn't quite sure if the praise was all that justified.

"Oh, I heard about him, never seen him though." Johnson suddenly had a strange look on his face. "You should go over and talk to him, maybe you can still become a Spectre one day."

"Why don't you go and ask him for that?" Garrus snorted, he would not annoy a hero like Saren with his gushing about becoming a Spectre one day like a little boy.

"Yeah, probably not a good idea, he hates humans." Johnson still had this strange look on his face.

Garrus shrugged, "Well, he did fight in the Relay 314 Incident and his brother got killed during that war, it's kind of understandable if he carries a grudge."

Johnson's voice was quiet. "The First Contact War was a long time ago, people need to move on at some point." He took a breath, still looking at Saren and not at Garrus. "My father fought on Shanxi. Died there." The silence was thick between them and he kept looking at the Spectre. "The galaxy is not the same anymore, times have changed."

Garrus stared at him. Johnson had never talked about his family or why he lived here on the Citadel and not on Earth. It had never even occurred to him that Johnson's father could have been fighting against turians in the Relay 314 Incident and how he had every reason to hate him because of that. Instead they had become best friends. A turian and a human. Spectre Saren would think he was crazy, Spirits, his father probably thought that as well.  
Which would explain the strained stretches of silence he heard when he told his father about the work he did with Frank Johnson. _Kind of obvious when you think about it._

"Who is the reddish turian next to Mr. Scaryface?" Frank asked, still openly staring at the turians. But he looked his normal self again, that unusual serious expression was gone from his face. "Is that a female? She looks pretty!"

Garrus sighed and took a closer look. His eyes widened in surprise. "I'll be _fugari_! That's Nihus!"

"Did you just say you'll be banished? That's what my translator puttered out."

"Well sort-of. I know that guy, oh and it is a man. Females have shorter fringes."

"Are you sure? Cause the way he walks, damn! You put that swagger in your hips and the whole female population of all species will throw themselves at you."

"I prefer my females not thrown, thanks. And yes, I'm sure. I've met him when I applied for the Spectres." There was burst of grief in the back of his head when he thought back to those talks. He was so hopeful back then and how he had idolized the Spectres. He had been so eager to prove himself to the Spectre and Nihlus was just really friendly, put him at ease and they just talked. Garrus felt like, given time, they could have become friends. And then he came home and his father made it clear in very few words that he would not go to the Spectres. He honoured his father's decision, like a good turian son would. But seeing Nihlus now he became painfully aware that this path for his life had been closed off to him.  
"Nihlus is a good guy, open and friendly. Total opposite to Saren. I cannot imagine how he even puts up with that xenophobe."

"So Nihlus doesn't hate humans?" Johnson kept looking at the red-plated turian with renewed interest.

"No, I don't think he does, as a matter of fact, I saw him meet a human woman back when our appointment was over. They seemed to get along just fine." _Fine_ was one way of putting it, nuzzling and kissing may have been more accurate. But Garrus considered it not his place to tell stories like that about the guy.

Johnson finally tore his eyes away from the Spectres as they entered an elevator. "Maybe the council paired them up with each other for that reason, you know? Have Nihlus counterbalance Saren's xenophobia. I don't envy that guy, Mr. Scaryface looks like a real funbag."

"Funbag?" Garrus translator didn't even attempt to explain that word.

"I meant it sarcastically, you know, like he is fun in bags only not."

"You humans..." Garrus let the rest of the sentence run off, it was a common joke between Frank and him to sigh about 'You turians...' or 'You humans...'

Garrus turned his attention back to his Garlefka and cut off another piece. Johnson had finished his Burger and was now sipping on his drink. Then he looked at him and asked "Have you heard anything about Tinlenus and Batius?"

"No, nothing new." Garrus mumbled, looking down on the table. They both avoided that subject, knowing they couldn't do anything anyway. Garrus decided to stop by the hospital later to see if he could find out more about Batius' situation. For now he wanted to change the subject.

"Alright Frank, tell me what you found out drinking coffee all day down in the wards."

"It's really good coffee actually, best I ever had on the Citadel. That quarter of the wards has a mostly human and salarian population. Hmm, I wonder if the salarians drink coffee too. Man, can you imagine? A salarian on caffeine - oh boy, he would probably talk so fast you'd have to record it with your Omni-Tool and then play it back at half speed!" Johnson almost fell out of his chair laughing.

Garus didn't really get what was so funny, he tried coffee once and decided that is was the most vile thing he ever tasted. And he did not notice that he talked faster afterwards.

"So you had good coffee, what else?"

"That biotech company is called 'Everest artifics', I wonder who comes up with these names... anyway, so far it looks like a salarian-human cooperation and as I said before, they do some impressive stuff with artificial skin. Nothing looked suspicious at first but I kind of befriended this cute girl who works at a lab there. She's really smart and she's paying attention to stuff around her. We talked for about an hour after her shift was done and she told me that they equipped a whole new section of the building a few weeks ago but nobody is allowed to go in. Sarah said she tried to get a look but they seem to have some heavy security going on there. They hired special personnel for the new lab and those guys aren't even allowed to talk to them. Sarah wanted to apply for a transfer but they seem to be very careful who they hire. I asked her if they were looking for people and she said she would ask her boss, maybe I can get hired there and find out more! Sarah said that they're always on the lookout for people who do the clean-up, that would give me nice chance to sniff around there. I could hang out with Sarah, you know, to get to know all her colleagues and the work they do there."

"Does Sarah know that you're C-Sec?" Garrus could hardly stop the grin on his face, he seldom heard Frank talk about a woman so much.

"I may have neglected to mention that..." Johnson said looking contrite. Garrus shook his head at that and looked at his friend "Honestly, Frank, your gushing about this girl and you're already lying to her?"

"Gushing? Lying?" Frank was turning slightly red. Garrus knew that that was a typical reaction for when Frank was embarrassed.

"Hey, I was just doing some small talk with her, I bought her coffee and then we just got along so well and I told her I was looking for a job to hear more about her workplace. How am I supposed to explain to her that I'm C-Sec now?"

"But if you tell her later she will think you only got to know her to spy on the company. That's not gonna end well, you know it."

"Yeah, I know. We'll see..." Johnson leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a minute.  
Garrus had finished his meal and cleaned up the table. The waitress was a tiny asari maiden who smiled very pretty from the counter over to their table. Nothing wrong with making a good impression at their favourite lunch place.

But Garrus got distracted by a familiar turian sauntering over to their table. Nihlus Kyrik walked straight towards their table and had his mandibles spread in a wide grin at him. Garrus was confused for a second if he should get up and salute but Nihlus was already in front of him and grabbed his arm in greeting.

"Garrus Vakarian, it's good to see you. How have you been?" Nihlus was way more friendly than Garrus would have anticipated. Johnson also seemed to think something along those lines and raised his eyebrows in question. Nihlus seemed to notice him now, turned around and grabbed Johnson's hand enthusiastically. "I'm Nihlus Kyrik, Spectre in training, a friend of Garrus. And you are?"

Johnson looked slightly amused at the turian and raised his eyebrow at Garrus again. Garrus trilled involuntarily a confused reaction back before he realized that Frank couldn't really understand that but Nihlus could. Johnson turned to Nihlus and shook his hand with a friendly smile, "I'm Frank Johnson, C-Sec."

Nihlus flopped down on a chair and trilled apologetic with his subvocals and Garrus answered with a questioning trill. Johnson looked confused from one to the other and mumbled "Would you stop chirping like birds now?"

Nihlus rested his fringe on the back of the chair and closed his eyes for a second. "I'm sorry Frank Johnson, that was rude of us. It's just where you guys do that raised eyebrow thing to ask 'what the hell is the crazy turian doing?' we use our subvocals. I can assure you, Garrus is just as confused as you are."

"Yeah, I figured as much, I may not understand your subharmonics completely but I've been hanging out with Garrus for a while, I think I got the basics down."

Garrus was a bit surprised by that but he decided to leave that revelation to later. He looked at Nihlus, trying to figure out what was going on. "Nihlus, I am glad to see you and it's not that I'm complaining about your friendly greeting but we've only met for that interview and believe me I thought we got along very well. But still, sympathy aside, we are not exactly close friends, I think..." he shut his mouth before he babbled even more.

"Yes, you're right Garrus. I may have been a bit overenthusiastic. It's just ... I'm a bit starved for friendliness." Nihlus sighed and looked at Garrus and Frank again. "Can you imagine what my days are like, hanging out with Saren?"  
He sighed again and his talons made light scratch marks on the table.

Frank snorted a laugh at that remark and said to Nihlus "You know we were just talking about what a funbag Spectre Saren must be."

"You called him a not-funbag, I called him a xenophobe." Garrus grumbled and then listened for any reaction from Nihlus telling him if he overstepped. But Nihlus actually started laughing.

"You guys have him figured out. I would add ruthless to that and then we'll have a complete description." He suddenly looked around as if he was looking for someone. Then he turned back to them and sighed. "Look at me, looking around like a child afraid to get caught by his father, I expect him to jump up behind me at any moment, scolding me."

Garrus shook his head, "Can't you ask for a transfer?"

Nihlus sighed again. "Saren is the best of the best, he get's the job done and I learned immensely from him. Getting along with his personality, well I consider that part of the test, you know? It's a challenge and I'm not walking away from that. I just need a bit of a break once in awhile."

Garrus looked at Nihlus again and he realized that he was not much older than him. He wondered if Nihlus would have listened to his father if he had asked him not to go to the Spectre-training. Garrus had not been ready to face a challenge like that but today? Could he face his father today and disobey his orders? _It's a challenge and I'm not walking away from that. Maybe it's time to face my challenge._

Frank had apparently decided that Nihlus needed a good distraction and they were talking about the various clubs and bars on the Citadel they could go to. Suddenly his eyes lit up and Garrus knew that Frank just had had an IDEA!

"Have you guys ever been to a rock concert? I mean real rock, Metal, hard and loud?" Frank had a mischievous grin on his face and Garrus wasn't sure if he liked that. But Nihlus looked excited, "I'm open for anything!" he said.

"Alright, birdmen, there is a concert, a small festival going on tonight in an empty warehouse in lower Quedgin. Three human bands play there and it will be wild! I promise, you guys have never seen anything like it!"

Nihlus jumped up and smiled at Frank "Sounds exactly like what I want, let's go!"

"Hold your horses man, it starts in about three hours." Frank said with a smile while Garrus thought what four-legged animals you could ride on had to do with anything. "Garrus and I actually have to finish some work first. How about this, we'll meet here again in three hours and take a skycab together from here."

Their Omni-Tools lit up as they exchanged contact data and then they departed with some friendly greetings. As they walked away, Johnson turned around again and called out to Nihlus: "Bring ear-plugs!"

_The hell?_

Garrus had to do an Extranet search to find out what ear-plugs were and he looked confused at Frank. "I thought we wanted to listen to music, why would I plug my ears?"

"Well, you guys have pretty sensitive ears, right?" Johnson looked at him with a sheepish grin. "Compared to you guys, humans are hard of hearing and even we plug our ears to protect them at a metal-concert. It's gonna get pretty loud man."  
"They make the concert so loud that it could damage your ears?" Garrus knew that humans sometimes disregarded basic health concerns but that sounded just ridiculous.

"Yeah, kind of stupid if you think about it." Frank shrugged and went on. "You don't want to close your ears completely just dampening the sound a bit. You don't have to wear armor but you should wear some sturdy clothes. And don't bring any weapons, oh I'm gonna write that to Nihlus as well, you won't get in with weapons. Oh, it's gonna be great."

Garrus wasn't so sure about that but he decided to just roll with it.

Three hours later they met Nihlus again at the cafe and got into a skycab. The turians both wore armor, anything else was just unthinkable. Frank Johnson wore jeans and a very old leather jacket and he almost beamed with excitement.

The warehouse they arrived at was huge and thousands of people were already inside. Garrus got nervous instantly, big crowds always made him uneasy. Johnson suggested a place up above on a gallery, overlooking the crowds. He told them that he didn't want to overwhelm them and from this point they had the best view.

As they looked over the crowd, Johnson suddenly got very excited, "Look, over there, that's Lieutenant Shepard!" Nihlus suddenly seemed very interested and Garrus tried to find out who they were looking for. They pointed towards a tall female with black hair that had a bright blue streak on one side. She looked strong and confident. She was surrounded by equally strong looking men and women who were all clearly alliance marines.

"What about her?" Garrus asked confused. Nihlus and Johnson both looked at him like he just asked the stupidest question ever.

Johnson smiled and made a big movement with his arm, "Lieutenant Shepard is the Alliance's rising star. She has just been accepted into the N7 program, the youngest marine to enter ever. She did some incredible stuff on..."

Right that second the concert started and the noise was so intense that Garrus felt like he should curl up under a protective cover. He remembered his ear protection and hurried to put it in his eartube. Nihlus and Frank did the same thing and Frank started to bop his head to the music. Garrus and Nihlus looked at each other confused. Turian music and dances were formulaic, arranged set of repeating melodies with defined steps to go with it. Some human music was like that as well, Garrus had seen a performance once but this was completely different.

He had a hard time to hear any kind of melody at first but after a while he noticed that the one string instrument seemed to lead with a melody, another string instrument laid a darker bass under it and the drums seemed to drive the music forward in a fast rhythm. A singer was screaming and roaring over all that and his translator didn't even attempt to get what he was singing about. Garrus looked over the humans in front of the stage, they weren't dancing, they were jumping and shoving and bopping their heads like Frank did. He noticed a few krogans on one side looking over the humans with an amused look and they were bopping their heads like them.

Frank noticed it too and yelled over the music "Krogans love metal!" Garrus remembered that Frank had told him that this music was called 'metal' for whatever reason. He noticed that the whole lower floor was now jumping in the same rhythm, moving like a body made of hundreds of cells. His eyes caught black hair with a blue streak, jumping high, higher than the others. Her whole body was like a spring and her mouth was open screaming or breathing he couldn't tell.

It had gotten hotter in the warehouse and not surprising the air got heavy with human sweat.  
The music came to a fast crescendo and the band left the stage. Garrus realized that he hadn't even noticed that the band had played several songs. He couldn't see Lieutenant Shepard anymore as the next band came on stage and a huge guy with tattoos took the center of the stage and let out a long scream. The audience answered with a scream and Garrus heard the krogans join in. Then the music started again, fast and loud, the drummer beating his drums so fast, Garrus couldn't really see it.

He noticed movement next to Nihlus and was surprised to see Lieutenant Shepard there. Nihlus smiled at her with his mandibles spread wide and Garrus had a feeling that they had met before. The music was too loud to talk anyway but Shepard yelled "Wall of death" at them and then pointed down and Garrus looked back down. Something strange was happening there.

The drum was beating out a rhythm but it was more quiet and the other instruments were quiet. The singer was separating the humans to the sides so that an empty gap was left in the middle and told them to hold till he told them 'Go'. Garrus looked at the humans facing each other over the gap. They looked feral, dangerous! He remembered that the teachers in basic had talked about the humans being predators on their world and how they were all amused by that. The tiny, soft humans predators, really?

But looking down at the two groups staring at each other, prancing, breathing hard like they could barely control themselves he could see it. They were wild, ferocious, snarling at the people on the other side. Then the music started and the singer told them to hold. Another instrument joined in and the singer called out again "Hold!" And then the drums started to get loud and fast and as all instruments sounded out together the singer screamed "GO!" And the humans on both sides of the gap ran! They ran towards each other at full speed, crashing into each other and Garrus couldn't believe it. He expected people to fall down with head injuries but everybody just kept slamming into each other and they were jumping again.

He saw a few turians and salarians, some of them C-Sec, on the sides looking just as bewildered as he felt. The humans were still slamming into each other for fun, jumping and running. How could they do that without any injuries or fights?

The singer now ordered the krogans to do the same but insisted on only krogans against krogans, a smart move. A krogan smashing into anybody other than another krogan tended to end badly. The about 20 krogans left a gap and waited till the singer yelled "Go!" and they crashed into each other head first and Garrus heard them roar happily like only krogans could and the humans were joining in. The krogans and the humans were now jumping to the rhythm, shoving each other.

Krogans and humans. It looked like they could get along really well. There was an old joke about what would happen if you locked a turian and a krogan in a room and depending on who told the joke only the turian or the krogan would come out alive. Garrus wondered if you tried the same with a krogan and a human if they wouldn't come out as best friends.

He noticed that Shepard had moved to other side of the gallery and had a hose in her hand and was fiddling with a vent. Suddenly water came gushing out and she started to spray the people on the floor with cold water. The crowd seemed to be very grateful for that, the humans were raising their faces towards the spray and the krogans let the water run over their humps.

The band had finished and the crowd, cooled down by the water, went to get something to drink and Garrus saw humans and krogans joking and laughing with each other. Shepard had turned off the water and came back to them. She nodded in greeting towards all of them and Nihlus gave her a warm smile and she returned it. Garrus thought she looked beautiful and was startled by that.

She looked directly at him and asked "So what did you think about the 'Wall of death'?"

Garrus had to take a breath and couldn't look away from her eyes. "That's what it is called? How fitting." He shook his head. "You know, I never saw it that way but krogans and humans, you seem to really get along well. If the krogans and the humans ever decided to form an alliance, I think the galaxy wouldn't stand a chance."

Shepard grinned and started to say something but the last band started to play and while the music wasn't quite as wild it still was too loud to hold a conversation. She waved apologetic and went back down to the main floor. Garrus tried to keep the black hair with the blue streak in his sights but at some point she disappeared.

Garrus felt that he needed to get out and indicated as much to his friends who pointed to their Omni-Tools. He nodded and typed out a short message that he would stay outside for a while.

The cold air outside of the warehouse was refreshing and he walked around the building just to stretch his legs. He let the earplugs fall into his hands and enjoyed how clear the world around suddenly sounded.

Before he went around some containers he stopped because he heard a human female gasp and sigh and he carefully bent around the corner of the box to see what was happening. He almost let out a trill of disbelief as he saw a krogan sitting on the ground with a human woman. She was strong and muscular but still looked fragile compared to the krogan. Her clothing was open at the front and her pants hung on one of her legs at the side next to parts of the krogans armor. Garrus thought that he had to interfere, how could a human survive sex with a krogan?  
But then he saw how gentle the krogan touched her and when he licked her breasts fondly with his tongue Garrus felt like his world got turned upside down.

Krogans could be gentle? And this krogan apparently knew about foreplay, did all krogans know that?

A krogan? Gentle?_ A gentle krogan?_

The words just didn't work together.

The woman moaned loudly and one look confirmed to him that, yes the krogan had traveled lower with his tongue and had found that magic nub. Oh - Garrus remembered that nub well.

Before he got lost in those memories, Garrus decided to retreat and leave the couple alone. If they had gotten this far they would surely be able to figure out the rest. Two adults having consensual sex was none of his business and it wasn't like he was an expert at krogan sex.

And he wasn't on duty tonight anyway.

He decided to go back inside, maybe he could find a female interested in him and have some fun himself. Looking over the heads of all the humans he didn't even realize that for the first time in a long time he didn't look for bright red. He looked for black with a blue streak.

* * *

If you wonder what I tried to describe there with the 'Wall of death' at the concert, search for 'Extreme wall of Death Wacken Metal Festival 2010' on youtube, then you'll know what I mean. I bet krogans would love that!

Thanks to TheLadyKellet for betareading.


	5. Chapter 5

_Hello dear readers!_  
_I would like to let you know that I added a few sentences to the last chapter where Garrus and Frank did at least talk a bit about their injured colleagues, I mean what kind of assholes would they be if they didn't even worry about them. I couldn't just leave them like that._

* * *

()()()()

There was light. Very bright light. There was some weight on his stomach. There was also a headache of epic proportions trying to burst his skull from the inside and someone was breathing against his neck.

Garrus slowly opened his eyes and made an assessment of the situation. He was in an unfamiliar room that had the nondescript look of a not-too-fancy hotel room. He sat on the floor with his back leaning against the couch, apparently that's how he had slept. The weight on his stomach was from Frank Johnson's head, who was curled up to the right of him on the floor and was using him as a pillow. Nuzzling his neck in his sleep on the other side was Nihlus, sleeping in a similar upright position against the couch.

Looking around the closer vicinity Garrus could see many empty bottles of human beer and turian brandy. That did explain the headache. Garrus tried to remember how the evening had progressed but the details were quite hazy. He remembered the metal concert, Lieutenant Shepard with the blue streak in her short hair, a krogan having sex with a human female - _way to go, memory, that's what I need to remember, sure! _- and then he met Frank and Nihlus back inside and they had a few drinks.

At some point they had left and had decided that Nihlus hotel room was a much nicer location for a last drink together. And then - things had apparently gotten out of hand. Garrus remembered that they had told stories and Frank had taught them a drinking game involving stacking cards on top of a bottle. Nihlus ordered beverages and food from a nearby store and then ... more drinking, more laughing. Personal stories were told, Garrus just hoped that his weren't too embarrassing. But if his friends were in a similar state as he was he needn't worry about their memory.

Nihlus breathing and nuzzling became more insistent on his neck and Garrus had to admit that it felt pretty good. It had been a long time since he had been with a turian female and Nihlus was a very interesting guy. He leaned into the caressing touch and felt Nihlus scoot closer to him. He let his hand go on Nihlus' back and scratched him lightly. Nihlus started to purr and Garrus felt a warm wave of excitement as the purr vibrated through his body. He turned his head to purr into Nihlus' fringe...

_And stop right there!_

Apart from Johnson sleeping on his stomach he had the distinct feeling that something was not right about this situation. Why had he woken up in the first place? He strained his neck to look past Nihlus to see more of the room and froze. Another person was in the hotel room!

On the other side of the room at the dining table sat a turian with his back turned to him, clicking his talons on a datapad. His white plates made it easy to recognize him as Spectre Saren Arterius.

Garrus felt like the mere presence of the Spectre made the room cold and unwelcoming. He felt like he had done something very wrong and was about to be scolded for that. Now why the hell did he feel that way? He wasn't a little boy anymore, caught by his dad under the covers with a Fornax issue. And nothing had happened anyway, not yet at least.

His posture seemed to have alerted Nihlus in some way and the red turian turned around to see what Garrus was looking at. On seeing Saren he sighed and laid his fringe back against the couch. "Hello Saren, what brings you here?" he asked without looking at the older turian. Saren put down the datapad and rose from the chair. He stepped over to the couch and looked down at them with a distinct expression of disgust on his face.

He made an annoyed growl with his subvocals and said, "I see you found yourself a new friend for your time wasting. And he brought a pet, how nice of him." Saren's voice was grating and he looked down on the peacefully sleeping Frank Johnson with disgust. Garrus rose up to defend his friend but Nihlus stopped him with a trill and a firm touch on his arm. Nihlus got up with a groan and barely looked at the Spectre. "Shut up Saren," he said without even raising his voice.

"Why are you here, Saren? Even I can have a free day once in a while and it is none of your business how I spend it and with who. So?" Finally Nihlus looked at Saren and there was no sense of friendship between them. Saren looked him over and pointed at his wrinkled underarmor. "You better get cleaned up. Your initiation with the council is in about one hour. The exact appointment is on your calendar. Don't be late."

On that sentence Saren turned around and strode towards the door. As the door opened he stopped and without looking back said "I removed your belongings from my ship, they will be delivered here. The council will provide you with a ship of your own if you ask for it." He left the room without turning around and for the first time this morning Nihlus actually looked flustered.

Garrus grinned at him. "So you're gonna be a Spectre. Congratulations!" Nihlus still stood unmoving and was staring at the door that had closed behind Saren. He scratched his fringe and took a deep breath as a trill of happiness was heard.

Nihlus looked up and sighed, "Spirits, I can't believe it! No more Saren breathing down my neck. And my own ship!" He sighed again. "That's just like him, no forewarning and not even a goodbye or well wishes for the future. Such an asshole." There was a sadness in his subharmonics that told Garrus that Nihlus had tried to become friends with Saren but the weird Spectre had made it impossible.

Garrus carefully moved Johnson's head away from his stomach and leaned him against the couch in a position similar to his own. He got up a bit too fast and the room started spinning around him. Nihlus noticed his swaying and grabbed his arm to steady him. He had taken a step towards Garrus for that and he was close, so very close to Garrus.

Their mandibles almost touched and they both stood still, each one waiting for the other to do something. Garrus inhaled his spicy scent, he shivered and he was very aware of Nihlus hand on his arm. But then Nihlus pulled back a little and his green eyes fixed on Garrus. "You know, you are good looking guy and I won't deny the attraction..." Nihlus said with a smile, "but I think I would rather be your friend, not your lover."

Garrus felt relief and disappointment at the same time and nodded. The sexual tension slowly ebbed away and he felt safe enough on his feet again to take a step away from Nihlus. He almost tripped over Frank's legs who had apparently woken up and was staring at them with disbelief.

Frank squinted his eyes. "Guys, have I missed something important? It looked like you two were about to kiss and make out right here and I'm really not into threesomes like that." Frank stood up, slightly unsteady and looked Garrus in the eyes. "Hey birdy, if I'd known you swing that way, I might have made a move on you myself."

"What?" Garrus didn't know what to say - _Frank? No, just no, no._

Frank started laughing "Relax birdy! I'm just messing with you. I can say with confidence that I don't swing that way but you can of course do what- and whoever you like." Nihlus joined in the laughter and went over to Frank to take his chin in his talons and looked him directly in the eyes. "You know Frank, I almost feel challenged to change your mind about that swinging." He purred suggestively, his mandibles spread wide and Franks eyes got very big.

Nihlus made a dramatic arc with his arm and released Frank from his hold and sang like an opera singer "Ah but I don't have time, I don't have time! Oh love will have to wait! Farewell my little human, time does not grant us the swinging we want!" He swirled around in a circle and then bowed to Frank who had watched him speechless and with his mouth hanging open. Finally he seemed to come back to his senses and started laughing so hard that he had to sit down on the couch again. Garrus snickered and then had to laugh as well. Nihlus was such a flirt. It was probably best for his spirit that he wouldn't be around Saren anymore.

Thinking of Saren reminded him that Frank didn't even know that the Spectre had been in the room and what kind of news he had brought. Nihlus walked backwards, still humming his song and then disappeared into the bathroom with a deep bow. Garrus got himself a glass of water and one for Frank from the kitchenette and flopped down on the couch again. Frank took the drink with a grateful nod and drained it in one go. He then turned to Garrus, his eyebrows raised in a question.

"Now what the hell has been going on here? You guys kissed, Nihlus is in an exceptional good mood and I dreamt about Saren sneering around here. I mean, really, what the hell?"

Garrus drank his water and hissed at Frank. "We did not kiss! Turians can't kiss anyway, no lips, remember? And all that salvia slobbering you humans are so fond of is kind of gross to be honest." He was only half joking, his experience with Alliance-Red kissing his mandibles had been quite pleasant. But he once had another try at kissing with a human female and she was practically flooding him with salvia - _really terrible_.  
"Nihlus and I were not ... well, not doing that. I guess we're friends now."

"Oh come on, I could sense the vibes all around you guys and I was still half asleep." Frank laughed at him and Garrus couldn't really disagree. "Yeah, at another time, in another situation maybe something could have happened but it will not. But you did miss out on the most exciting thing: Saren was here and announced that Nihlus will be initiated as a Spectre in a little while today! He already threw all of Nihlus belongings off the ship and Nihlus will get his own ship from the council."

"No shit man? No wonder he was in such a good mood, that is awesome!" Johnson looked as if he was genuinely happy for Nihlus and Garrus was glad that his new friendship with Nihlus seemed to extent to Frank as well.  
He looked down on his wrinkled underarmor and took a sniff of himself and Frank. He turned away slightly disgusted and looked over to the bathroom where Nihlus stepped out in cloud of steam. "That's where we should go, Frank, right away. We stink." Garrus said and stood up to go and take a shower.

Nihlus was naked and his red plates with the white markings were glittering with water. Garrus was not ashamed to look but the sexual attraction was mostly gone. But he noticed that Frank was downright staring at the naked turian and licking his lips. Garrus smirked and suppressed his laughter as he went into the bathroom. _Looks like Frank is learning something new about himself today._

When he came back out after a quick shower, Frank was eating something in the kitchenette while Nihlus was nowhere to be seen. Frank noticed him and walked towards him, presumably to get a shower himself. Before he closed the door he swallowed the last bite of his breakfast and called back to Garrus. "Nihlus already left to get to the Council Chambers, muttered something about not to be late at all cost to avoid pissing off the asshole." The door closed behind him and Garrus heard the shower start.

He was reluctant to put his underarmor back on, it still smelled of lots of alcohol. His armor wasn't much better, it smelled of human sweat from the concert. But if they wanted to watch the initiation, and he just assumed that they would, they had to get there right away, no time to get clean clothing. Garrus used a wet towel to wipe off the worst grime from his armor.

Frank came from the bathroom in his shorts and they way he wrinkled his nose as he smelled his shirt he seemed to have the same problem with his clothing. He shrugged his shoulders and put his things back on, coming to the same solution as Garrus.

"Let's go birdy, we better get there in time. I've never seen someone become a Spectre before." Neither had Garrus, he had never been in the Council Chambers before.

_What an interesting day so far._

* * *

Garrus had to admit that the Council Chambers were impressive even though it was a bit dark. Real trees were lining the paths and they were in bloom, giving off a faint smell. Fountains and patches of greenery with beautiful flowers were sprinkled around the gigantic room on top of the Citadel Tower. The room made a beautifully sweeping rise towards the top and the huge window in the back showed a spectacular view of the blue tinted Serpent Nebula that surrounded the Citadel. The council was raised on a platform and across a gap on the Petitioner platform stood Nihlus.

Garrus and Frank had found a spot on one of the higher galleries lining the room to watch the proceedings. The asari councillor Tevos was making a speech.

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle - "

Garrus tuned out the speech and looked at Nihlus. He appeared to be completely composed but there was a slight smirk to his mandibles. He didn't show it but he was damn happy to stand there. Garrus let his gaze travel, looking for Saren, as Nihlus teacher he surely would be there as well.

He almost didn't see him, he was standing in a dark corner on the lower level, like he was hiding. His face showed no emotions, if anything he looked unimpressed. Garrus couldn't understand him, he should have been up there on the platform, proudly releasing his student to his new position.

Garrus wondered if Nihlus was disappointed that Saren didn't seem to care about his new spectrehood but he figured that he was probably used to behaviour like that.

Johnson leaned over to him and whispered "I wanted to ask you something about last night, did you find her?"  
Garrus was confused, "Find who?"

"Lieutenant Shepard! You went outside, looking for her. Did you find her?"

Memories of the last night came back, Lieutenant Shepard smiling at him and he shook his head. "No, I didn't find her, maybe she had left. Why do you ask?"

"Didn't you find her interesting? She may not be a classical beauty but I thought she would be right up your street."

Garrus stared at Johnson for a second. Since when did Frank become an expert in what kind of women he liked? "Really now? What makes you think that?" _Now this is going to be interesting._

"Well..." Frank had huge grin on his face as he spoke. "She is tall, muscular, a strong warrioress. She looks you straight in the eyes and she has that strength in her posture and the way she holds everybodys gaze, I think she wouldn't even back down from a krogan. Practically a turians dream girl. And Shepard especially is the kind of woman who doesn't take shit from anybody, you should read her file sometime. And I've been told she's also into tech and fixing things. So yeah, right up your street."

Garrus stared. "Huh," was all he could say. Frank was right, that was exactly the kind of woman he liked. _Frank was more attentive than you'd think._

Frank looked at him. "And she smiled at you."

Garrus chuckled. "I'm pretty sure she smiled at a lot of people, Frank."

"No, Vakarian, she's not the 'instantly friends with everybody' type. But she smiled at you."

"How do you know so much about her anyway? It sounds like you have a crush on her." Garrus grinned at Frank to see if he would get flustered.

But Frank remained calm and shook his head. "I'm more of a fan maybe. Sort of followed her career. She's the youngest marine to ever enter and most probably finish the N7 program. That makes her the best of the best humanity has to offer." He turned towards Garrus to continue. "I'm aware that we humans are the new kids in the galaxy. I know how the other, older races look down on us. Hell, I only have to look down there and see that there is no human representative near the council and that it will maybe take years or decades until we can see a human becoming Spectre like Nihlus. My guess is that the Alliance is going to push Shepard forward for humanity, she'll be the one representing us."

Garrus turned Frank's words over in his head. He was right, a lot of the old council races looked down on the humans. Humans were curious and demanding. They wanted to play a part in the galaxy and were not content to sit at the sidelines. Especially the turians were wary of the humans. The turians were used to their position as the "police-guards" of Council space and expected a certain obedience to the rules from other species. But humans had a habit of questioning rules. They directly threatened the established position of the turians.

The turian military had once underestimated the humans in the Relay 314 incident. After beating down the small forces on the planet from orbit they had just assumed that this fight, vicious and costly as it was, had been enough to put the new aliens in their place. Only to realize that they had woken a sleeping giant as the Second Flee of the Alliance came down on the turians with massive force. Garrus shuddered thinking what would have happened if the council had not intervened. Both forces were ready for all-out-war with equally strong determination on both sides.

Luckily it never came to that but it was clear that the humans would not be the obedient allies that some wished them to be. Johnson was right, humans would keep pushing for political and military power and maybe it was wise to keep an eye on their most prominent figures.

Garrus called up a quick search for Lieutenant Shepard on his Omni-tool to let it download the information. Nothing wrong with keeping informed.

They both looked back down on the platform where the ceremony had come to an end and Nihlus was congratulated by some high ranking military representatives of the turian Hierarchy. He looked around the galleries until he spotted Frank and Garrus and they both saluted him with a grin. He turned back to someone talking to him but a short message popped up on their omni-tools to meet him down at the elevator in a few minutes.

As they turned away to walk down Garrus saw Saren move from his dark corner over to Nihlus and he actually made a short salute. Nihlus dipped his head in thanks and Saren turned and walked away. _Probably the friendliest thing he could manage._

They kept walking among the spectators and Garrus noticed that Frank was the only human around and got some odd looks. He turned to Frank. "I never realized how you must feel like an outsider a lot of times."

"Ah, don't worry about it. There are thousands of humans on the Citadel but they just keep to themselves. It's a human thing, huddle up in your social circle if you feel threatened and look suspicious at the foreigners. I don't wanna do that. That's why I hang around with you!" He punched him on the arm and Garrus punched back, careful to not hit him too hard as he wore no armor.

"So that's why? And I thought it was my winning personality."

"Yeah right..." Frank snorted sarcastically and then they both laughed.

Garrus thought back to the beginning of their conversation. "By the way, she smiled at Nihlus too."

Frank smiled. "Oh but not like that, my friend. She _really _smiled at you."

Garrus wasn't sure what he meant but left it at that.

()()()()

* * *

_I'm trying to make Shepard her own person and not a selfinsert-standin but of course some of me will blend into her personality. I'm a tech-geek so that's what she is going to be as well although she'll probably be more of an infiltrator in battle cause that's what I played. I'm also convinced that you can't be a strong warrior like Shepard being petite and girly, it just doesn't work in my head. So she is more like Vasquez from "Alien" in appearance but the rest like the default FemShep only more angular. She looks nice but she isn't a model._

_As to Garrus and Nihlus..._  
_I blame Smehur's awesome story "The Candidate" for the insistent Garrus&Nihlus shipping that happened there (even though that is a Saren&Nihlus story and I don't ship those at all). I had no idea they would do that, I swear!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hello dear readers!_  
_Another chapter where I'm throwing new characters at you left and right, sorry for that, but fear not, we will see Nihlus again and I try to get all the exposition out of the way quickly._

* * *

()()()

Garrus slumped down in his office chair and put his feet up on his desk. Stretching his neck he began to contemplate what he should do with the rest of the day. There was so much work on his desk that starting any of it felt pointless. They had left the Council Chamber together with Nihlus but separated again after a little while. Nihlus had to go and find a ship then search for a crew to go along with it. But they agreed to meet later in a cafe in a mostly turian part of the Citadel.

On the way back to the C-Sec academy, they stopped at the hospital to visit their injured colleagues. Tarten was in pretty good health, all things considered. His skin grafts and bones were healing fast and he was to be discharged to bedrest at home the next day. Tinlenus had already been released from immediate medical care, shortly after Garrus had gone home. His arm was in a light cast to help with the healing of the fracture and he could have gone home but he had hardly left the hospital. He spend everyday next to the Batius' sickbed, making no secret of their relationship. Garrus felt kind of silly for never having noticed it before.

Batius had not regained consciousness yet even though his body seemed to be healing well according to Dr. Michel. The doctor was very friendly and explained to them in great detail what they had done for his injuries and was carefully optimistic about his chances. That at least was a relief. Garrus still felt guilty for putting the guys into danger, it was their job, yes, but in a way he was directly responsible for them ending up in a hospital. He said something along those lines to Frank who told him something like "shut up with the stupid". Frank went to give him a slap on the back of his head but got caught up in Garrus fringetips and almost broke a finger.

Garrus knew what Frank tried to say, he would say the same things if the situation was reversed. But he couldn't get away from the guilt and whenever he saw Batius lying unnaturally still in the hospital bed it got even worse.

They left the hospital in silence, both not so eager to put their worries into words. Frank received a call from Sarah, his contact at Everest Artifics on his omni-tool. He left in a hurry to meet with her and Garrus smiled at the memory of the happy grin on Frank's face. That guy was in love, he couldn't deny it.

So now Garrus was alone in his office with all the piled up work, guilty feelings and hazy memories of the last week.

He took a datapad into his hands with a sigh and downloaded everything from the warehouse case to it. Maybe he could at least get a start on that case. As he read he realized that nobody else had even looked at this until now. There were no notes, just endless lists of inventory from the warehouse and names of employees or people who happened to hang around the area that day. He wondered what Frank had been doing all week. Garrus started a search algorithm for background information on the names and then looked over the inventory lists. Apart from medical drugs, recreational drugs and some disturbing stuff that he would rather call poison than drugs, there were lists of weapons, electronic parts and mass effect generators like one would expect. But one thing caught his eyes. There was a cold storage room where the officers found boxes of meat.

Garrus looked closer, it wasn't just meat - it was organs! There were almost twenty boxes equipped with miniature life support systems with various organs ready for transport off the Citadel. He read through the descriptions: 'heart, salarian; heart, human; lung, turian; liver, turian; liver, human; kidney, turian; krogan, testicles...' it went on and on. He needed to know more about that, where did these organs all come from?

Scrolling through his contact list he called up the pathology lab and made an arrangement with Dr. Kaltkan to meet him in the lab. Then he went to the evidence storage and got three random organ boxes from the cold storage. Balancing the boxes on his arms he went down to the pathology lab. Dr. Kaltkan, an older turian in a labcoat, greeted him with a nod.

The doctor was a veteran of the force, he had seen pretty much everything in his career. Garrus had met him before and had never seen him show a hint of surprise. He was almost proud to see the doctors eyes widen in surprise as he read through the list of organs that had been found in the cold storage. "This is quite unusual", he said without looking at Garrus. "Twenty organs in storage, that is a lot." He opened one of the transport boxes a took a surprised breath. Garrus pressed down on his subvocals to not release the smirk his face almost showed.

"This life-support system is highly advanced!" The doctor sounded genuinely impressed. "It would be possible to keep the organs ready for transplantation for at least two weeks like that." He opened all three boxes and started to take samples from the organs. A faint hum could be heard from the small life support systems, Garrus made a note that he should check the supply lines for the parts needed for such an advanced system.

Dr. Kaltkan had placed the samples in the scanner and was looking through the results. He was mumbling to himself and Garrus chimed his subvocals once to get his attention. The doctor looked at him like he had forgotten that he was there. "Ah, yes, I'm sorry, let me tell you what I found." He transferred the data to Garrus datapad and highlighted some sections. "As you can see here, the organs are in good condition. They have been taken from very recently deceased specimen, there are no traces of decay. As for the quality of the transplant, I can't give a definite judgment yet but I will run more tests for that. I have heard of lower quality transplants showing up in the hospitals around here and if these come from the same source, they have improved the procedure or their donors very much. I think these are top-quality."

Garrus looked at the doctor in surprise, apparently he still knew what went on outside of his lab. "I'm shocked, Doctor, I thought Johnson and me were the only ones even looking at that case."

The doctor chuckled. "Yes, yes, nobody wants to touch this stuff, I was surprised that you took such an interest in it and your human partner as well. Humans can be so squeamish with things like that."

"Well, Johnson is a good cop, organs and blood won't stop him." Garrus wondered what the doctor was hinting at.

The doctor stopped chuckling and looked at him seriously. "Officer Vakarian, let me tell you something. Whenever someone in a lab somewhere set's out to work on illegal stuff there will always be traces, hints, something. But nobody sees it, nobody wants to look at it. Research and experiments take a lot of time, Vakarian, a whole lot of time. You can't completely hide it, people work with you, you need resources, if someone is willing to look, he will find things. I know most of the medical staff working in the Citadel's hospitals and I have heard about bad transplants for a while. I even told the Executor about it but nobody looked at it. Then suddenly, you and your partner, a human of all things, take one look at it and take the case to a whole new level."

Garrus waited for him to continue but he didn't says more, so he broke the silence with an angry trill. "Doctor, what are trying to tell me? That C-Sec let the case drag on purpose? Maybe that's true. That Frank and I blow it out of proportions? There are officers still in the hospital because of this! I won't accept you accusing us of ..."

The doctor raised his hands and his subvocals sang a calming apology. "Please, Vakarian, stop! I never wanted to suggest that you blew the case out of proportion." He laid his hands back on the table and looked down. "What I've tried to say - and apparently I didn't do it well - was that you and Johnson are damn fine officers. That after everybody else just stepped around this, you took the case and investigated. I tried to say that I'm very impressed with you and Officer Johnson and personally I can't even believe that I'm saying that about a human."

Garrus let out a snort. "I'm getting kind of tired of this whole 'for a human' thing. Johnson is a C-Sec officer and we both do our job as best as we can. I - eh - thank you for the compliment but it may not be all that deserved. We just sort of stumbled onto this and things didn't go exactly smoothly lately." He scratched his neck and then straightened. "We both take our job serious and we just do it."

The doctor nodded, "Yes, I may have to rethink old prejudices and I agree that it is your job. But believe me, I've seen other C-Sec officers not doing their job for such a long time, it's really refreshing to see some doing it well." Dr. Kaltkan smiled and Garrus was pretty sure he had never seen him do _that_ before.

Garrus' datapad vibrated to indicate that it received another set of data and the doctor explained that he had made a DNA profile of each sample.  
"Just send the other organs down here as well and I will make DNA profiles for all of them." the doctor said.

Garrus started to make a cross-search for DNA profiles in C-Sec's database. There was nothing on the salarian heart and liver he brought but he got a result on the turian liver. He started to read through the file of the turian when Dr. Kaltkan suddenly trilled at him.

"Officer Vakarian, your company is not completely displeasing but I have to say that I rather work alone down here." The doctor looked at him with a slight smirk.

Garrus looked around and agreed that maybe the pathology lab was not the nicest environment to work on this case. He got up and subvocally hummed his good bye and slowly walked towards the elevator, still reading his pad. As he stepped into the elevator his subdermal comm speaker beeped in his ear and he snarled in annoyance. He thought about ignoring the call but his omni-tool showed him that it was Johnson calling. He tapped the receiver behind his ear.

"Hey human." he said.

Frank answered, "Hey turian."

Their ritual for answering comm calls. Garrus waited for him to continue as he stepped out of the elevator into the central hall of C-Sec academy and kept on walking.

"Listen birdy, good news! Batius has woken up and he has even spoken coherently! The doctors think that he can make a good recovery! Tinlenus looks like his plates will pop off out of happiness!"

Garrus sighed in relief and sat down on one of the benches outside the academy. The Presidium was bright in artificial daylight and Garrus trilled out his happiness as he watched the clouds on the sky. Frank laughed in his ear, "Now listen to the pretty bird sing! It's okay, man, I know you were worried but everything is gonna be fine. Oh and I got more news, Sarah, you know...?"

Garrus interrupted him "Yes, Sarah your girlfriend at 'suspicious company' who doesn't know that you're C-Sec. What about her?"

Frank mumbled something under his breath but didn't say anything against Garrus' assessment. "Well, she got a job in one of the new labs and that will give us some new insights. I got a job in the clean-up crew, I already settled things with Pallin, I go undercover and take the job, he gave me two weeks to find something, it's not much but we'll see, I'm going there right now, see if I can get to work right away..."

Garrus interrupted Franks endless stream of words. "Hey, pyjak-man, stop! Listen, I got a new lead here I'm going to check out but if you're busy I just take Cercus with me." Frank didn't like Cercus at all and Garrus waited for him to take the bait. He could hear Frank hesitate but then he said "It's alright birdy, I can't let this opportunity pass and if you want to spend your time with whiny Cercus - that's your problem!" He laughed. "I know your game, Vakarian, haha!"

Garrus laughed back "Alright, you got me. Fine, I take one of the rookies with me, we're just going to ask to the family of one of the organ donors some questions, there won't be anything problematic going on."

Frank made a snort. "Now you jinxed it man, I'll just wait for the explosions."

"Very funny, Frank" Garrus growled.

"I'll see you later, birdy. Just send me the coordinates to meet you, I don't want to walk alone into some turian hellhole tonight."  
Garrus agreed that that was probably not a good idea.

They ended the call and Garrus went back inside C-Sec to randomly pick one of the new recruits to come with him. He still remembered how he had felt back in the day when he started at C-Sec, how none of the veterans ever wanted to take him along. How were the new guys supposed to learn anything if they never went outside with one of the experienced officers?

He stuck his head into Pallin's office. "Executor, Sir? I'd like to take one of the new guys for some questioning I have to do. Nothing dangerous."

Pallin's subharmonics chimed loudly of anger and disbelief. "'Nothing dangerous?' With that coming from you, Vakarian, I'm inclined to send a SWAT team along." The Executor grumbled loudly again and then dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Just take whoever you like, Vakarian. No explosions, no shootings please."

Garrus went to the main hall where he saw in one corner six new recruits huddled around a terminal, watching vids of C-Sec arrests. He walked over to them, the group consisted of four turians, a salarian and a human. When he was next to them he said to noone in particular. "I need someone to come with me to question people. Anybody interested?"

For a second they all just stared at him and then the salarian and the human, a female, both stepped forward at the same time saying "Yes, Sir!" very loudly. He chuckled slightly and looked at them. "This is not the military, you don't have to be quite so ... so 'yes Sir' you know? I'm Garrus Vakarian, what are your names?"

The salarian spoke first in a high voice. "My name is Berdin Lerv." His skin was white with yellow spots on his horns and he wore typical salarian armor with the handle on the front. Garrus had always wondered what that thing was for.

The human woman spoke next. Her skin had a dark tint and her hair was dark brown and sat in short curls on her head. She wore light grey armor with blue lines on her arms. "My name is Katrina Peters, I just got here three days ago. I don't know how much help I can be but I would like to see some real C-Sec work. Watching vids gets kind of boring." She spoke with a soft voice but still sounded confident.

Garrus chuckled, watching and learning from vids was a typical turian way of education, he had noticed with Johnson that he thought it was boring too. Maybe that was another one of those human things, they preferred hands-on training to watching instructional vids.

Garrus didn't feel like deciding between them so he took them both along. He didn't bother talking to Pallin about that, the new recruits had clearly nothing better to do anyway. They took a skycar from the garage and Garrus programmed the destination. He turned around to the young recruits in the backseat.

"Ok, Lerv, Peters, here is the short version. My partner and I have found some suspicious stuff with transplant organs. There seems to be a new, very active market for that going on here on the Citadel. We recently raided a warehouse and found a whole bunch of them. Among them was a turian liver that gave us a name via the DNA profile. His name was Titus Kerdotus, he had a bondmate and a son. I just want to talk to the family, how he died, how the organ donation was contracted, that sort of thing. This is probably a very emotional time for the family, so don't ask stupid questions, just look around and pay attention, see if anything seems weird to you."

The recruits both looked at him and nodded. Garrus then remembered that they both weren't turian and he tried to think of things they should know before they would cause an incident in a turian household mourning. "If you see a picture of the deceased don't touch it. That would be insulting. If you say his name, don't let your eyes wander away, that would be rude. Better let me do the talking and you just pay attention to our surroundings, got it?"

"Yes Sir!" came from the backseat and Garrus reminded them again that they needn't do that. They arrived at their destination and Garrus parked the car in the underground garage and they took the elevator up to the tenth floor. He pressed on the door chime and steeled himself for the grieving widow to open the door but he was greeted by happily smiling turian woman. She greeted him friendly and then looked at the three of them expectantly.

Garrus trilled an apology and lowered his voice. He looked her in the eyes, "Matrona Kerdotus, my name is Garrus Vakarian, C-Sec officer. I would like to ask you a few questions about your bondmate, Titus Kerdotus." He trilled apologetic again and she looked at him confused.

She smiled at him, "Why don't you ask him your questions yourself?" She looked over her shoulder to call out "Titus! Come here please _cari_!" Thankfully the way she was facing she couldn't see the dumb look on Garrus face. A turian, who looked exactly like the picture on the profile came around the corner and greeted Garrus with a friendly trill. His plates looked a bit dull but other than that he seemed to be in perfect health. He looked at his two alien companions but they had similar dumb looks on their faces. Garrus mind was completely blank, he could only stare at the turian.

Peters was the first who came back to her senses and stepped forward. "Sir, we have received disturbing news about health problems in this area and would like to ask you a few questions. Have you had any medical problems lately?" She held her datapad in front of her like she was just checking off a list on it. Kerdotus looked at her slightly bewildered but he answered the question.  
"I had a slight accident at my workplace last week but other than that, I had no problems and I haven't heard of anyone getting sick."

His mate chimed in with worry. "Is it contagious? Are we in danger?" She looked in panic at them and Garrus finally remembered his training and trilled a soothing tone at her. "No, there is no illness spreading around, we have just heard of people - eh - getting hurt around her. It was a statistical anomaly."

Peters looked back on her datapad as if she was checking her list. "I just need to know where you both work and then we are done." she said with a friendly smile that showed all her teeth. Garrus flinched at that, hopefully the Kerdotus's were used to humans and didn't misinterpret the gesture.

Titus Kerdotus answered without hesitation "I work at Everest Artifics as a technical assistant for Dr. Saleon. My mate is a sales assistant at Saronis Applications down in Zakera wards. Do you have anymore questions? We expect visitors and we have to make some preparations for that."

Garrus was checking his omni-tool, already deep in thought about Everest Artifics and how this could all be possible but Peters wasn't missing a beat and thanked them very politely for their help and excused them.

The were silent until they reached the elevator, each of them reading things on their omni-tools. But once the elevator doors had closed, Peters and Lerv both looked at Garrus expectantly. He shook his head, "Honestly guys, if I knew what's going on here I'd tell you. There is a liver down in the pathology lab that has his DNA and even though I couldn't get a DNA sample from him now, he looks exactly like his profile picture. He should be dead. I don't understand it."

Peters looked at them both with raised eyebrows. "Do turians have more than one liver? Can you take one out and the donor lives on?"

Lerv finally spoke for the first time. "You can't take a whole organ from a body without killing the subject!"  
"You can with human kidneys. You can take one out and live with just the other." Peters retorted.

Lerv looked at her unbelieving, "Really? Humans don't die if you take out a whole kidney?" Garrus found himself staring at the human woman in the same way. She nodded vigorously. "Do salarians and turians not have two kidneys?"  
"They do but they are connected, you can't just take one out without injuring the other, at least as far as I know." Garrus said.

They both looked at Lerv and he huffed annoyed. "Don't look at me for confirmation! Just because I'm a salarian doesn't mean I'm an all-knowing scientist. I don't know a lot about other species, just the basics."

Garrus grinned. "Well, I may not be an expert either but I'm pretty sure that turians have only one liver. If he is the donor, he shouldn't be alive. That was good work there, Peters, you adapted pretty fast to that situation. I have to admit, I didn't know what to say when I saw him walking around the corner there."

The elevator stopped on the garage level as Peters laughed and said "You know, I finally know what a dumbfounded turian looks like now. They never covered that in 'xeno expressions'." Peters looked at him from a corner of her eyes, probably wondering if she overstepped with that. Garrus laughed wholeheartedly, he knew where she was coming from.

"Ok, guys, anyone got any idea what's going on here?" Garrus looked at his two young colleagues. They both shrugged their shoulders in an amusing accordance of cross-species body-language. Berdin Lerv was deep in thought, reading stuff on his omni-tool display and almost walked into a wall.

In the car he looked up and said "I made a search on recent police reports and nothing like this has been reported. Katrina and I could ask around if anybody ever heard about something like that."

Katrina looked at him with raised eyebrows, "Wouldn't that be in a report already if it had?"

Garrus shook his head, "No, Lerv is right, this is so weird, it might not get written down to avoid questions about it. You shouldn't just blurt this out either, you'll get ridiculed."

"Let's ask Bailey", Katrina said. "We met him yesterday, he seems to be a no nonsense kind of guy and I think he will always answer seriously to a serious question." Lerv nodded to that.

"I never met this Bailey", Garrus said, "you think he could tell you something?"

Katrina shrugged her shoulders again, "I don't know but he works down in Zakera Wards, maybe he heard something." She hesitated for a second before she continued. "He's a human, he was one of the few guys who actually talked to Berdin and me. The other officers ... other than you, Sir... they're not exactly friendly to us."

Berdin snorted. "Not friendly - they are downright hostile towards you, Katrina!" She shrugged her shoulders at that.

Garrus sighed. The racism, or better speciesism in C-Sec was one of the problems that nobody liked to talk about. C-Sec used to consist only of turians, then a few asari joined the force, hardly any salarians felt compelled to do police work and C-Sec had been turian dominated for centuries. Now the humans wanted to join too. And again, humans weren't content to wait around till they got invited, they demanded to participate. Their willingness to serve in the force should have impressed turians but instead they felt threatened by it.

Garrus suddenly felt very tired, the stress of the last week and lack of sleep last night catching up with him. He reprogrammed the car to take him to his apartment first before returning to C-Sec. "Okay guys, I'm gonna be a bad example of C-Sec officer and take a long break. I think I need a nap." He stretched his neck, his whole body was tense. "I'll send you the information that I have on this case and you can look that over. I'll contact you later and we can compare notes, alright? Do me a favour and bring the other boxes with organs to Dr. Kaltkan down in the pathology lab so he can make DNA-profiles from them."

His two young colleagues nodded and Garrus had to smile at how eager they looked. He remembered how boring his first few weeks had been at C-Sec, he would have loved to work on a real case back then. His only highlight of that whole month had been the hot meeting with Alliance-Red.

Up in his apartment he let the armor drop off with a sigh and shrugged out of his underarmor as well. That thing still smelled of the events of the last night and he was glad to throw it into the wash. Falling down on his couch he stretched his legs and let his fringe sit on the backrest. He placed one hand on his genital plates, just enjoying the feeling of pressure there. In his mind he went back to his favourite memory of Alliance-Red moving over him like fluid. He remembered what she felt like and how she smelled but frustratingly he couldn't remember her face. Back then he had next to no experience with humans and they all looked pretty much the same to him. All he remembered from the look he got of her in the hallway was her bright red hair and that she had smiled. But her face wasn't clear in his memory and that annoyed him to no end.

He had realized for a while now that he would probably never find her again, even if she ever came back to the Citadel. He had learned that humans dyed their hair and that their scent came mostly from the stuff they used to wash it. Some even used perfume, masking their natural scent completely. So none of the attributes he remembered of her were of any help.

But he still remembered how she had felt like fluid.

* * *

()()()

Garrus woke up still stretched out on the couch. He must have been more tired than he initially had thought, falling asleep with his hand on his plates. He checked his omni-tool, he had slept for over an hour.

Both Katrina and Berdin had messaged him in the meantime but they had no new findings to report. Dr. Kaltkan had sent him the DNA profiles of the other samples and he started a search algorithm on the database on all of them. Three came back with results and he started another search whether these three were alive or dead.

As he was looking through the information his omni-tool pinged with a reminder that one of his automatic searches had brought up another result. It was his 'Lieutenant Shepard' search, the algorithm he had set up this morning to gather information on the Extranet about her. He didn't have access to Alliance files but apparently she was already interesting enough to have people write about her. Maybe Frank was right, this could be the rising star of the Alliance.

One of the reports was about an operation on a planet called Tiptree. A small human colony, threatened by a catastrophic landslide from a collapsing mountain side. Lieutenant Shepard had transported a bunch of engineers from another mining colony to Tiptree to somehow contain the landslide until the settling could be evacuated. Without proper resources or time the engineers and the soldiers had managed to build a structure from scrap-wood and mass effect fields to contain the sinking boulders. The structure was so solid that the settlement could not only get evacuated, the whole village, with everything the people had owned was moved to a higher rise in the area.

Lieutenant Shepard was lauded in the report for having organized this rescue operation without direct orders from command. Her orders had been to just evacuate the people but she went beyond that.

The report also mentioned her involvement in several missions against pirates who attacked the many new colonies humanity had opened up around the galaxy. That she was an excellent soldier was without question, her platoon protected several small settlements. Still she could only do so much, it looked like the Alliance was stretched thin trying to protect all the colonies.

He wondered how Nihlus knew Lieutenant Shepard, when he saw him later on he would ask him about her.

Garrus was about to close the search results when he saw a small note about Lieutenant Shepard's past. Apparently she was colony kid herself, born and raised on Mindoir in a family of farmers. When she had just turned sixteen, Mindoir was raided by batarian pirates or slavers who attacked the colony and ruthlessly killed almost everybody. Garrus was shocked, she had lost her whole family in that attack, a little daughter of a farmer, having everything she ever knew and loved taken away from her. He found it hard to make the connection from a farm girl to a hardened soldier and he wondered what that experience had done to her.

He thought about his own family. He had left his home for his mandatory military service at the age of sixteen and it had been hard for him. Harder than he cared to admit, he had been so homesick. Leaving his family, especially his mother had been the most painful thing he had ever done at that point in his life. He couldn't imagine how it would feel to lose them in such a horrible way.

Garrus made a note on his calendar to call his mother when it was morning on Palaven.

He decided to visit Batius in the hospital and then show his face at C-Sec again and maybe have a serious look at all the other cases on his desk. There was still the question how the asari matriarch and this Verringer guy played into this weird case. He still had a few hours to kill before he would meet with Nihlus and Frank again, he might as well get some work done.

* * *

Frank was sitting on a bench on the side of the road to the mostly turian area of this ward. Around him turians were busily walking to and from the public market but almost everyone spared a look for the odd human sitting there. He looked like he didn't notice or didn't care about all the attention he was getting but Garrus could tell from his face that he was uncomfortable. He wasn't called the 'polygraph' for nothing!

Garrus got out of the taxi and as he approached the bench, Frank visibly relaxed, waving at him with a big smile. "Hey man! You look much better than you did this morning, did you polish your plates or something?"

Garrus grinned, "I just took a nap, I feel much better now. Oh and by the way, good of you to not call me 'birdy'."

Frank scratched his head, "Yeah, I figured that might not go over so well around here. I can be sensitive, you know?"

"Never would have guessed."

They made their way through the crowds to a small cafe, with windows towards the market place. They could see Nihlus already sitting at a table, working on his omni-tool and a bunch of datapads scattered around on the table. The cafe was almost empty, it looked clean and friendly. Every table was decorated with a flower from Palaven. Garrus took a deep breath, he hadn't smelled these flowers for almost two years now. Frank looked around in surprise. "You know, this is not what I had imagined a turian hellhole would look like."

Nihlus noticed them and got up with a joyful smile, he took Franks hand and pulled him into an embrace. Frank looked slightly bewildered at Garrus over his shoulder and Garrus could hardly control his face. He wanted to laugh out loud at Franks look of panic. Nihlus let him go, only to put his hands on either side of his face and pull it towards him. It looked like he wanted to kiss him and Frank was pulling back fast. "Hold it! You know, I do have a girlfriend! Could we stop with the kissing of the nice human please?"

Nihlus was clutching the cowl on his armor like Frank had hurt him on the inside but then he had to laugh himself. All three were giggling like little kids and the waiter behind the bar was looking at them like they were crazy. Nihlus took a deep breath and then pointed to the chairs around the circular table full of datapads. "Have a seat my friends. They have very good _calida_ here and they even have levo coffee and tea, I have been told. There is a section of levo food on the menu although it's all asari, I think."

They settled down and the waiter brought coffee for Frank and _calida_ for Nihlus and Garrus. Nihlus smiled happily and then it just burst out of him. "I have a ship! She's a beauty, almost brandnew. It's a frigate, medium sized, can house a crew of about ten but I only need four to run the ship. Spirits, it's gonna be so great to finally have a crew. I already hired two pilots and two engineers. I might look for soldier, to have someone at my back on a mission." There was a pinch in the back of Garrus' mind at that. Would Nihlus ask him to accompany him?

Frank had scrunched his eyebrows and asked "What do you mean 'to finally have a crew'? You were on a ship with Saren..."

"Yes, but Saren has no crew on his ship." Nihlus interrupted and they both stared at him in disbelief, "It's true, he is all alone in his ship, he runs everything with an advanced VI!"

Garrus shook his head "But that's crazy, he'll go insane!"

Nihlus snorted at that "Maybe he already has lost his mind, it would explain a lot of things."

Frank shrugged his shoulders "Maybe he just likes to be on his own, some people are like that."

Garrus shook his head "Not turians. It has been proven that turians need the company of others, a turian in solitude will most likely develop psychological problems. We are raised in families and clans, we live and work in tight communities. We shouldn't be alone for long periods of time."

"Saren was always a loner, "Nihlus said, "In the whole year I spend with him, I have never heard him talk about his clan or about friends. He only mentioned his brother once and how the filthy humans killed him." He looked at Frank, "Sorry."

"Don't worry, I already knew that." Frank said with a dismissive wave of his hand. His omni-tool lid up and he read the message. His ears turned slightly red.

Garrus grinned "Is that your _girlfriend_ calling you? Does she know who you are by now?"

Frank's face turned red. "Yes, it's Sarah, my - ehm - girlfriend. And yes, I told her I work for C-Sec and she wasn't really mad at me for that." he replied sheepishly. "I'm just going to go outside for a bit to call her, could you order me something to eat?"

"I don't know what you like..." Nihlus said, "and I'm hurt that I have been replaced so easily!" He sighed dramatically.

"Oh, shut up you." Frank grumbled with a smile and walked outside.

"We'll just order something random, " Garrus said while he laughed, "Frank always says that asari food tastes nice no matter what you get."

Nihlus began to put the datapads in a bag and they ordered their food. They were silent for a little while as Garrus tried to come up with a way to ask about Lieutenant Shepard.

"I wanted to ask you something." he started and Nihlus grinned at him and said "About Lieutenant Shepard?"

Garrus was stunned. "How do you...?"

"The way you looked at her and she smiled at you - it was like watching a spirit light up between you two."

"What? No, we hardly talked, I don't even know what kind of a person she is. I am just curious how you know her." Garrus said.

Nihlus smiled, "Well, I met her while I was still in the military. We were on our way to a distress signal from a turian colony, the only cruiser in the area. As we arrived the orbit was swarming with mercenary ships, pirates who were after the eezo resources from that colony. They had already punched through the orbital defences and were landing troops on the ground. We were hopelessly outnumbered but of course we engaged."

Frank came back to the table and sat down, listening to Nihlus story.

Nihlus nodded at him and carried on, "Things looked bad when suddenly an Alliance cruiser appeared, very precisely shooting pirate ships out of orbit and two shuttles were landing on the planet with small ground troops. Our troops were already pinned, we had attacked with one platoon of 30 soldiers and they had us trapped with nowhere to go. Typical turian battle tactic, _attack with overwhelming force_, well, that only works if you have the overwhelming forces. We didn't, we were just a bunch of soldiers in a bad situation.  
The humans used a different tactic, they had small teams of three or four soldiers. They cut down communications, destroyed their weapons and forced the enemies to spread out and lured them into traps. I couldn't see any of that of course, we were just sitting behind cover, hearing firefighting all around us. After half an hour the pirates fled and three human soldiers stepped towards us. I got up and saluted, _that_got me some looks from my platoon. And then I thanked them for their help and the leader took off her helmet, grinned at me and said 'Glad to be of service' and then she made a perfect turian salute."

Nihlus smiled at the memory. "Most of my platoon had never seen a human soldier before and you know what they teach at the academy, humans are weak and their tactics are wrong and all that. That day changed a lot of minds, I have no doubt that we wouldn't have survived without the help of Lieutenant Shepard and her platoon."

He took a sip of his _calida_ and continued. "After that experience I set out to organize combat trainings for human and turian troops together, I was convinced and still am that we can all learn from each other. Spirits, the amount of _stercus_ I got for that from the Hierarchy! Admittingly, the Alliance was reluctant at first as well but Lieutenant Shepard and Captain Anderson liked the idea and worked for it on their side. It took a whole lot of diplomatic _tubaric_ to get that project off the ground. But we got it, there are now regular trainings with turians against humans or mixed platoons. And there is another project that sprang from that that I can't talk about yet. But it's amazing!" His eyes were shining and Garrus wondered what secret could have gotten Nihlus so excited.

"Anyway, that's how I met Shepard and we have stayed in contact ever since. She's a good person, you can trust her."

Garrus had no idea why he felt such a relief at that remark. Frank was grinning at him. Suddenly he looked intently out of the window and his grin got even wider. He pointed outside at a figure strolling towards the cafe's door. "Speaking of the devil...!"

"Devil? What devil?" Garrus asked confused.

The door opened and Lieutenant Shepard stepped in.

And she smiled at him.

()()()

* * *

_I had so many more things in my mind that were supposed to go into this chapter but I think it is __long enough now. That stuff will have to go into the next chapter. Phew._  
_Like any writer I love getting reviews, so thank you for the reviews. _  
_Thanks also go to TheLadyKellet for beta reading this long ass chapter._


	7. Chapter 7

_Hello dear readers!_

_Sorry it took so long to write this chapter but I'm already working on the next one so you will not have to wait so long for that one. I made up a few turian words again, I put the translations in the footnotes. Now on with the show!_

* * *

()()()

Shepard smiled at him, and it was like the sun rising over Palaven's mountains.  
_What the hell? Getting poetic now, Garrus?_

He couldn't stop staring at her, taking her in. Her short, black hair, with the bright blue streak on her left side almost touching her eye. Her blue eyes, framed by dark lashes, some black paint around her eyes making them shine even brighter. She looked so alien, but fascinating. But it was her smile that stood out the most. Her smile for him.

Her gaze shifted towards Nihlus and she smiled at him too. Before he could clamp down on them, his subvocals released a quiet growl. It was just a short burst of something like jealousy and Garrus wasn't even sure why, but Nihlus had heard it. His mandibles snapped into a smirk as he got up to pull Shepard into an embrace. Again, Garrus felt that growl escape before he could stop it. Nihlus turned Shepard around so that he could look over her shoulder and he grinned - _grinned!_- at him. Garrus knew he had been caught; he was jealous of Nihlus over a human woman he hardly knew. He would never hear the end of this.

Shepard stepped out of Nihlus' embrace and turned around to Garrus. She extended her arm and held out her hand. Garrus got up, dipping his head respectfully, and grabbed her lower arm with his hand. She looked at him slightly confused, and he realized that he had turned her human style handshake into a turian greeting among friends. He touched the inside of her arm and she didn't even wear armor there! _Stupid! _Garrus wanted to slap himself, he knew how humans greeted each other, better than most turians probably. Why was he acting so weird?

She took a step towards him, as close as it was possible with a chair standing between them, and put her other hand on his shoulder. He couldn't feel her touch through his armor, but he was aware that she was now clearly in his personal space, looking into his eyes. As she edged closer, his visor gave off a proximity warning.

She smiled and he could see her flat teeth. "We haven't really been introduced yet," she said, "I'm Lieutenant Jane Shepard, Alliance Navy."

Garrus widened his mandibles and wondered for a second if she knew that he had smiled at her. He was aware that many aliens found this look intimidating. "Garrus Vakarian, C-Sec." He put his free hand on her shoulder, unsure if this was the right thing to do. This didn't look like any form of greeting he knew, and from the outside, it looked like the only thing to stop them from embracing was the chair between them.

She still smiled and they stood in this weird, almost embrace, a little bit too long. Nihlus stepped up and gently broke them apart by offering that stupid chair to Shepard, and they all sat back down. Johnson came back in and he took her offered hand and shook it as they introduced each other. _Yes, that's how it's done! Stupid!_

Johnson sat down with a happy smile on his face. "Sarah wants to meet me at the Presidium in half an hour. I would say I'm sorry to leave you guys, but honestly, I'm not." He grinned at them and waved his credit chit over his coffee cup to pay for it.

Nihlus smiled at him and asked, "Why didn't you invite her to join us?"

Johnson looked at him, his expression suddenly serious. "This is the turian part of the Citadel. I feel intimidated here, and I'm a big guy. And no offense to Lieutenant Shepard here, but she clearly looks like a woman who can hold her own in a fight." Shepard raised her hand, "None taken." Johnson nodded at her and turned to Nihlus again, "Sarah is a tiny woman, a scientist, not a soldier. I don't want her walking alone around here."

Nihlus looked equally serious now. "Do you think a turian would attack her like a wild animal? Because we can't control our predator side?" There was a threat there, just under the surface of polite conversation.

Johnson didn't flinch. "No, Nihlus, I know turians are not wild animals," he pointed to Garrus, "I hang around with this guy, you know, and he's pretty much the nicest guy I have ever known." Garrus hummed in embarrassment. Shepard looked at him with a smile and Garrus' hum grew louder until he forced a hold down on his subharmonics.

"Have you been to this part of the Citadel lately?" Johnson asked, sweeping his arm to include the whole area outside of the window. "Racism, or is it speciesism? Anyways, it runs rampant here. It's the same everywhere, if the different species don't mix, prejudices against the unknown aliens grow. Look around, look at the market there. You might see a salarian occasionally or a volus but no human would dare to show his face here without some turian friends around him."

Nihlus sang a sad tone and lowered his head in an apology. "I'm sorry, Frank. I apologize for my accusation, I should have known that you are not that kind of a person. I had not realized that the situation has gotten worse."

Shepard spoke up, an angry furrow between her eyebrows. "Has it become that bad? I had hoped that people would have gotten used to each other over time." She made a short snort, "that explains a lot..."

"What do you mean?" Garrus asked her. Her face had a look of barely suppressed rage for a second and then turned calm again. He realized that she was very careful with the emotions she showed.

She turned to him and gave him a sad smile. "On my way here a young turian boy wanted to talk to me, he was just curious I think, maybe he had never seen a human before. But a woman, probably his mother, grabbed him roughly and pulled him away, scolding him. And then she yelled at me, some curses that my translator couldn't define. I thought it was just a misunderstanding, but maybe it wasn't?"

Garrus felt frustration rise. Like Frank had said a while back, the galaxy was a different place now. People should adapt and try to get along instead of secluding and stewing in their old prejudices. But as he had noticed today with Peters and Lerv, the speciesism didn't even stop at C-Sec. If C-Sec couldn't even be an example, how were people supposed to learn?

Before he could say something in his anger, Shepard spoke up again, looking at Nihlus. "You know it was the same before we started the combined training program, remember? People didn't know about each other and they just assumed the worst. Maybe we could set up some kind of festival, let people experience the different cultures. We invite some of our guys, you know the ones who went through our training? We could have a mixed martial arts tournament, performances, dances, things like that. Humans and turians with each other, no separating, show everyone how we can work and live together." Her eyes were alight with excitement and her optimism was infectious.

Nihlus smiled at her and gave a subvocal trill of happiness and pride. "I may not have time to organize this directly, but I'll gladly lend my new Spectre authority to this. I know just the right person to take this up, I'll contact her right away."

"Is she a turian?" Shepard asked. Nihlus nodded and Shepard suddenly had a mischievous grin on her face. "Would she get along well with a human? Male, military, serious?"

Nihlus looked at her curiously, "Sure, she's not a prejudiced turian and comes from a military family. Who do you have in mind?"

"I wonder if I could get Anderson to chairman this. His staff on the Citadel are very capable, they could handle things without his direct involvement all the time, and his name does carry some weight around here." Shepard smiled at Nihlus, and Garrus felt like he was missing some part of the story here.

Nihlus shook his head, "You do know that Anderson has had some bad experiences with turians? There isn't a whole lot of love in him when it comes to us. You can't change everyone, Shepard."

"I know Nihlus, I know I can't change people. But maybe I can just give him a nudge in the right direction so that he wants to change himself." Again those eyes, full of light.

Garrus was fascinated. He knew she was a soldier, a deadly force. But now she was more like a guardian of understanding, forcing people to come together. He knew it wouldn't be easy, and she probably knew it too, but she was determined to get people to work with each other.

Nihlus and Shepard already put together a contact list and had their omni-tools exchange data. Garrus noticed how Frank looked at her like he saw her for the first time. There was that growl of jealousy trying to rise up again and Garrus stamped down on it with determination. _You have no claim here!_  
Frank must have noticed something and grinned at him now. Garrus felt very stupid. He stretched his throat, "Eh, I think we could include C-Sec in this project. Spirits know we need this just as much as anybody. I spoke to a new human recruit today, apparently speciesism is just as common at C-Sec as it is here. I'll talk to the Executor, we'll have to deal with the security anyway, and maybe we could find something to participate in."

Nihlus nodded absentmindedly, but Shepard looked at him with a wide smile and her whole face was alight. _Like the sun over Palaven - Oh stop it. _"That's an excellent idea, Officer Vakarian!"

"Please, call me Garrus, Lieutenant." He said and her smile got wider.

"Then I ask you to just call me Shepard, Garrus."

"Gladly, Shepard."

They looked into each others eyes and neither looked away until Frank cleared his throat. He coughed into his hand and got up to leave. "I'll leave you now to meet Sarah."

Nihlus stood up as well, "I don't feel comfortable having you or Shepard walk on your own in this district anymore. May I suggest that we all go to the Presidium together? The three of us can easily find a place to eat there and Frank will get safely to Sarah." He looked at all of them one after the other. Frank and Shepard shrugged their shoulders while Garrus hummed his agreement to himself.

They apologized to the waiter for not getting any food and stepped outside. The wards had no day and night cycle, the light was the same as always but Garrus felt like the atmosphere had changed. Turians were staring at them and at their two human friends.

A group of five young turians, all wearing the same black armor with a red logo on their shoulders, stepped slowly towards them, following them to the main street. They walked the same speed as them, keeping the same distance. But they were not just following, they were herding them out of the district, blocking the path behind them. Garrus and Nihlus exchanged a look, they were both aware of the situation. Frank was already in C-Sec mode, sending out a message to headquarters and setting his omni-tool to record like he always did. Garrus looked at Shepard, her face was friendly and he wondered if she had not even noticed the group behind them. But then he saw her feeling for a weapon apparently hidden under her vest. She looked at Nihlus, who already had a pistol out and held it close to his chest. She urgently shook her head and whispered, "We can't shoot here, there are civilians and children around here!"

Nihlus hesitated for a second but then he nodded and let the pistol disappear again. Behind them the group was walking faster, closing in on them and Garrus could hear the menacing growls. Nihlus and Shepard exchanged a look and Garrus felt slightly left out. These two knew each other well and they communicated without words. They both stopped and turned around at the same time, their arms spread wide and with a friendly smile said "Hello!" to the group. The other turians almost ran into each other and seemed momentarily confused.

Nihlus had his mandibles wide in a grin and addressed one of the black-armored turians directly. "How can we help you, friend? Anything you wanted to say to us?" His smile was friendly but his subvocals were singing a clear threat.

The other turian answered the same way and then pointed with a hateful snarl at Shepard and Johnson. "These two should not be here! They don't belong here or even on the Citadel!" He was shouting now, making a big show for his audience. "Let them go back to their muddy planet, let them go back living in caves! You should be ashamed to be in their company, that is not the turian way!"

"To learn something new is not the turian way? That explains a lot!" Obviously Shepard did not have a lot of patience for _stercus_. She took a step forward, her empty hands still visible. Her voice was deep and loud, she was talking for the benefit of the families around them. "So, it is you who get's to decide how a turian is supposed to live? You tell the people who they can talk to? You decide what's right and what's wrong?"

Now another kind of growl was rising from the turians around them. Turians followed orders of superiors and listened to their parents. That was ingrained in every turian from early on. But for young men like the five in front of them to assume that they could decide for others, that showed an immense lack of respect. _Does Shepard know that?_

The leader of the group realized that he had lost the popular vote; he twitched one mandible and his group turned away. Shepard started to walk backwards and the rest of them did the same, not letting their eyes stray from the turians in the black armor. Finally they felt safe enough to turn around and walk to the transport terminal. Suddenly something hit Shepard on her back, splattering her in purple goo. One of the agitators had thrown an overripe _necitina _at her. The juices had sprayed all over her back and were dripping from her hair and down her bare arms.

They all stared at her, wondering what she would do now. Garrus saw her gripping something under her vest, probably the grip of her pistol. He wondered if this would make her forget the civilians. For a moment her face was full of rage but then the emotion was gone and like a mask another expression slid over her face. She smiled, no - she laughed! She laughed like this was the funniest thing that had happened to her all day, and to his surprise he heard some of the children laugh with her. Even some of the older turians were grinning and somehow the whole incident turned into a funny little thing.

The agitators realized that they still couldn't get the aggression against the humans they had wanted and turned away. Shepard waved at some turian children and then climbed into a skycar. As soon as she was out of sight the smile fell from her face and she desperately tried to wipe the fruits juices from her arms with a rag. Nihlus produced a wet medical pad from his armour and looked concerned at her arms. Where the juice had touched the naked skin, angry red welts had formed. He wiped the skin clean and applied some medigel. Shepard hissed whenever he touched one of the welts, they were clearly painful.

Garrus felt completely helpless, "Is this an allergic reaction towards dextro-fruit?" he asked. Shepard shook her head and gave him an assuring little smile followed by a pained grimace.

"No, I'm not allergic to dextro, few humans are, it's just like sugar to us. But this juice feels like acid!" She looked angry at her arm as if she could make the red marks go away just by staring at them.

Nihlus trilled apologetically, "These fruits are quite sour, the juice is definitely acidic. It even burns on my skin and your skin is so sensitive..." He had a dreamy look on his face, his talon moving lightly over her arm. Garrus stared at him and his jealous growl came up again. Shepard chuckled and gave Nihlus a flick on his mandible with her fingers.

"Stop playing around, Nihlus. I have to wash this off, as soon as possible. Any idea?" She looked between them and Frank spoke up. "Your apartment is not far from here, Garrus."

"Excellent" said Nihlus and had Garrus program the destination into the car. "We will take Shepard there and you, Frank, can continue on your way to meet Sarah, before she starts to worry about you."

* * *

Faster than Garrus could worry about the state of his apartment, he found himself searching for one of his softer washcloths for Shepard. He also gave her some levo-salve for irritated skin and Shepard raised an eyebrow in question that he had such a thing. "I have visitors, sometimes..." he mumbled. He didn't want to explain that asari and human skin sometimes suffered from sex with him.

He left Shepard to washing herself in the bathroom and took a look at her vest that she had taken off. As he started cleaning it, he realized that it wasn't armor, but it was still a protective vest, with some kind of sturdy inlay inside. There was also a hidden knife on the left side and some other small weapons Garrus didn't recognize. He smiled, humans looked weak, but that was deceiving.

Shepard came back into the room and smiled when she saw him cleaning the vest. The outer material made that easy. "Thanks Garrus, you didn't have to do that, " she said.  
He shook his head, "It was no problem. I was also curious about it, it looks so harmless but I just found a knife here." He looked at her with mock indignation.

She laughed. "Us humans lack the natural armor you guys have, so we have to use some tricks. That vest is no substitute for armor, it won't stop a bullet but it would probably stop a knife. Made me feel much safer back there with the turian hooligans."

"Hooligans?"

Shepard shrugged her shoulders. "Old word, means something like aggressive troublemaker. Hey, you found my toys!" She pointed at the weapons he did not recognize.

"I was wondering what these are." He held up a little tube-like metal object. Nihlus leaned over the back of the couch to look at it as well, balancing some drinks in his hands. He looked just as confused as Garrus felt. Shepard took one in her hand and showed them how a short needle got extended when she pressed down on the end of the little tube.

"It's a new system for non-lethal takedowns." she explained. "Contains a strong sedative that works on most species, even turians!" She grinned at them. "It even works on krogans but only for a short time, their redundant nervous system is impossible to really shut down."

Nihlus sat down on the couch next to Garrus and handed out the drinks. Shepard flopped down sideways on Garrus' only armchair, her legs dangling over the armrest. He wondered how this position could be comfortable, but the way she smiled at him showed him that she was happy. He liked that smile on her face.

"What is your fighting style?" Garrus asked, wondering what kind of soldier would have a need for injectors like that.

"I began training as an engineer, cause I'm good with tech. I'm pretty good at hacking and stuff like that, but as it turns out I'm also a good shot. I got trained with pistols, submachine guns, and sniper rifles." Garrus' interest was peaked as he heard her say sniper rifle. "Infiltrating also means stealth missions. They are developing a cloak system for us but it's not finished yet. We have to make do with keeping to the shadows for now." Garrus could just easily imagine her sliding in and out of the shadows.

"Infiltrators get combat training to take down any species quietly. Well, except the krogans, nobody has figured out how to do that with krogan." She laughed again and flexed her feet. "Most moves we learn are lethal and that always annoyed me. I wanted to have a way to sneak in and out of a place, undetected and not leaving a trail of corpses behind. My old engineering friends and me got together and developed this prototype. Finding a sedative that worked on a wide range of species was the hardest part."

Nihlus scanned one of the injectors with his omni-tool. "Human scientists developed that?"

"Not alone, a salarian helped." Shepard turned and put her feet on the ground, her elbows resting on her knees. "Never met him, but he was extremely productive. Developed the sedative in something like two weeks, when some of our scientists had already spent months on it, unsuccessfully." She leaned back and bumped her head on the backrest. The armchair was for a turian, the backrest ended in a roll to rest the back of a fringe on it.

Garrus trilled apologetic, "Sorry, I guess that chair is not made for humans."  
She smiled at him with her lips wide, showing her teeth. "No problem, I prefer having my knees up anyway." She flopped back sideways, putting her knees over the armrest and smiled at him again. Garrus was beginning to really like that smile.

"So you are a sniper?" he asked. He had been one of the best snipers in his platoon during his military training. "Maybe we could go to the gun range together and have a little sniper challenge?"

Her eyes lit up, "Oh, I'd like that. What gun do you use?"

They happily compared make and models and exchanged stories about impossible shots they had taken. Nihlus rested his fringe on the back of the couch and started to nod off. Shepard and Garrus kept on talking. It was so easy to talk to her.

The conversation wandered from light hearted stories about pranks and mishaps to real missions. Shepard told him about a mission that she got to lead as a new N6, where she had lost contact to her team and was on her own. She was sniping pirates until she was out of ammo, then she had to take out the last opponent in close combat with a knife. Shepard fell silent for a while and then spoke with a hushed voice.  
"Sometimes I think that it shouldn't be fun, you know? Killing people. I'm good at it, sometimes it's even fun, exhilarating, and ... it really shouldn't be. It's always someone's son or daughter on the other side of the scope. My mother would probably be horrified at what I do." She looked him in the eyes. "My parents were simple folk, we lived on a farm and I had never held a gun in my hand until..." her voice got even quieter, "until I joined the Alliance."

Garrus wanted to get up and hold her in his arms. This urge to comfort her surprised him. But he didn't get up, they hardly knew each other and embracing her was much too personal for their new friendship.

"If you are fighting for the good side, helping people..." Garrus began, trying to somehow comfort her with words.

Suddenly Nihlus' omni-tool chimed and Nihlus woke up with a start. He looked at the translucent display and groaned. "The council, I have to take this somewhere private." He looked questioning to Garrus.

"All I can offer is my bedroom or the bathroom," Garrus said and pointed towards the bedroom.

"I think I prefer the bed to the toilet." Nihlus said, scratching his fringe. He closed the bedroom door behind him and Garrus could faintly hear him talking.

Just as he wanted to continue the conversation with Shepard, his own omni-tool chimed, announcing a vid-call. He groaned in annoyance when he saw that his father, Aethius Vakarian, was calling him. On a vid-call of course, so he could see if Garrus kept his apartment clean and what kind of company he had. "I'm sorry Shepard, it's my father, I have to take this. He's..." _How do I explain this without sounding like a little child? _"I don't want to have to justify to him why a human is sitting on my couch. Could you be, like, quiet?"

A short emotion flitted across her face, something like hurt but then she smiled again. "I'll be sneaky, don't worry. I'm an infiltrator after all." She sat herself down on the floor so that the couch's backrest covered her. Garrus moved to the kitchen area so that the camera was facing away from the couch. He took a deep breath and opened up the call interface on his omni-tool.

"Hello father. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, my son, everyone is well here on Palaven. And if you'd call your mother occasionally, you would know that."

Garrus clamped his mandibles in a wince. His father was right, he hardly ever called his mother even though he loved talking to her. "Yes, sorry, I was busy."

"Don't give me excuses son, I don't want to hear them. The reason I'm calling is I have arranged another _praecipit convenire_ for you. The meeting is tonight, at a turian restaurant on the Presidium. I have sent the time and coordinates to you just now."  
Garrus groaned and he trilled his annoyance loudly. "Father, you can't just set me up on a _praecipit convenire _at such a short notice. I have plans for tonight." At least he hoped he had, he had wanted to ask Shepard to spend time with him.

"Then you will have to change your plans. Do I have to remind you of your duty as my son and your responsibility to your clan? Sapita Fedorian is the daughter of Lartius Fedorian, who is the brother of the Primarch of Palaven. The Fedorian clan is of the highest tier in the Hierarchy and it is an honour that they have agreed to a _praecipit convenire_. You will not embarrass our clan by dissenting."

Garrus had to hold down tight on his subvocals to not reveal the anger that welled up in him. This was the main reason why he had left Palaven. He was so tired of this part of 'the turian way', how parents planned their children's life. He should have told his father a long time ago that he would never agree to a _praecipit collocatio_, a prearranged bonding. Aethius Vakarian was still looking for a suitable mate for him, one that was of a high tier and a beneficial connection for the clan.

"Father, please, you have to stop this. I will never ..."

"You are my son and this is my will. You cannot disobey."

Garrus sighed, there was no way out for him. Unless he wanted to break with his family over a vid-call, he had to do what his father expected of him. "Fine, I will meet this woman but then we will talk about this. No more _praecipit convenire _without talking to me."

"We will see. Please look and act presentable tonight. Your mother sends her regards. And clean your apartment. Farewell, Garrus." And with that he ended the call.

Garrus wanted to punch something. He looked over to Shepard, she had watched him during the whole call. Her face showed something - Garrus called back on all his expertise to recognize the emotion. She looked sad, disappointed.

He went back to the sitting area and Shepard stood up from the floor. She looked at him expectantly and he felt like he had to explain himself.  
"Sorry about that, I had hoped we could have ... if you had time tonight, ..." he was fumbling badly, he knew it but he just couldn't find the words. "I wanted to ask you ... but now I can't. Apparently my father has made plans for me and I have to meet this ... woman."

"For a _praecipit convenire_?" It sounded strange when she tried to make the turian words. "Is that like an arranged rendezvous?"

He nodded at that, feeling like he should somehow apologize for that. But why should he, it was just a meeting that he had to go to, they would have some polite conversation and then go their separate ways again. Just like with the other five _convenire _his father had arranged for him. The women had all been in the same situation as him, they had to go to these meetings to keep their families happy but none of them had any plans to actually agree to a bonding through that.

Shepard still looked at him, her face serious. "So are you expected to marry the woman that your father picked for you?"

"That's the traditional turian way, parents find a suitable mate and arrange the bonding. The children have no say in it. It's not always like that anymore, many families leave the bonding to the children but my clan is very traditional. My father wants to raise the clan higher in the Hierarchy and one way to do that is by mating his son to a high-tiered woman of another clan. He hopes to find a woman for me who I can agree to."

Shepard's face was unreadable. Garrus found that confusing, he was usually so good at reading human faces.  
"I didn't know that turians had arranged marriages like that." She said with a polite smile. "We, I mean humans on Earth used to do that too, but that was a long time ago. I'm sure parents still try to influence their children in any way they can but arranged marriages don't happen anymore. At least as far I know."

She put on her vest and gathered up her equipment. Garrus felt panic rise, he didn't want her to leave. He could see that she was disappointed but he wasn't sure why.

"I should go, I'll be leaving for Earth tomorrow to start my N7 training. I still have to pack." She didn't look at him and went to the door. "Goodbye Garrus, it was fun meeting you. Tell Nihlus I'll call him later." She finally looked at him over her shoulder, her eyes sad. With a small wave of her hand she disappeared into the hallway. The door closed behind her and Garrus had the distinct feeling that he had lost something important.

()()()

* * *

_Don't worry, I'm not going all Jane Austen on the story, just a little._

_Many thanks to Credete, who almost drove himself crazy editing my ramblings._

_The words I'm using for the turian expressions are latin words, jumbled around with extreme disregard to any kind of grammar. _  
_Here are some translations:_  
_praecipit convenire = a prearranged rendezvous / date_  
_praecipit collocatio = a prearranged bonding / marriage._  
_stercus = bullshit_

_But some things I just made up with random letters. _

_Thanks for reading!_


	8. Chapter 8

Garrus stared at the door. Shepard had left and she had not been happy. Why had the _praecipit convenire_ upset her? Could it mean that she liked him? That she had wanted to be with him tonight and he just blew his chances? He felt a short burst of intense joy, immediately followed by absolute despair. He keened loudly in a subvocal curse.

"Spirits, I'm an idiot."

"Why?" Nihlus asked behind him. Garrus hadn't even noticed him leaving the bedroom. "Where is Shepard?"

"She left, she said she'll call you later."

"What did you do?" Nihlus asked him, his subharmonics chiming an accusation.

"Why would you assume...? Nevermind." Garrus sighed and he let his confusing emotions sing out unhindered.

Nihlus stared at him. "And here I thought I was just helping along a little fling. You sound... serious. You like her. I never would have thought you would decide for such _affectus_."

Garrus groaned. "I feel like I wasn't really deciding anything, it just happened."

Nihlus had a faraway look on his face. "The humans call it falling. Falling in love. I always liked that expression." He grabbed Garrus by his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "Are you sure that you want this?"

He didn't have to say what he meant, Garrus knew what a traditional turian would say to such a liaison. A traditional turian like his father. _Spirits_, the whole Vakarian clan would rather snap off a mandible than getting close to a human.

"I might have already lost my chance but I'm not sure why." Garrus said and fell back down on the couch.

Nihlus slowly sat down beside him, half turned to the side to look at him. "Garrus, my friend, I know her well and I'm sure that she likes you too. So why did she leave, what did you do?"

Garrus groaned again. "It was more my father, he called on a vid-call."

"Oh, did he see the filthy human and yell at you?" Nihlus seemed to be very amused by that idea.

"No, I told her to hide before I answered the call." Garrus said and saw Nihlus flinch at that. "That probably wasn't the nicest thing to ask of her, now that I think about it."

"I'm sure she understood that, it's not like you are in _conveniri_ already." Nihlus said jokingly.

"About that, guess what my father was calling me about." He heard Nihlus trill out and nodded. "Yes, he has set me up with a _praecipit convenire_for tonight. He picked Sapita Fedorian, daughter of Lartius Fedorian, who happens to be the brother of the Primarch of Spirits-be-damned Palaven to act as a ladder up the tiers of the Hierarchy. I am to meet her in a restaurant on the Presidium in - let me check -" he looked at his omni-tool, "in an hour. Spirits take him, how can he still do this to me?" He let his head fall back and sang out his frustration.

Nihlus made a sympathetic trill but then his tone changed to a harsh question. "So Shepard heard that your father had set you up with a _praecipit convenire_? What did you tell her then? Why did she leave?"

"She asked me if that was like an arranged rendezvous that my father had set up for me. And she wanted to know if there was a marriage to follow. She seemed to be bewildered that turians had arranged marriages. I told her that that was the traditional way."

Nihlus laid back his head and sighed. "Really Garrus? You tell the woman that you want to get closer to that you will meet with another woman to arrange a marriage like your family wants? And you wonder why she left?"

"I'll never go through with the _praecipit collocatio_. Like every turian child I just do the _convenire_ and then I'm done with it. Hopefully my father will get the message and stop arranging these."

Nihlus snorted. "And how is she supposed to know that? Humans don't do arranged marriages, not anymore at least. They believe in romantic love like the asari. Shepard knows a lot about turians, especially from a military standpoint. But I'm fairly certain she's not familiar with the finer details of turian parenting and _convenire_."

Garrus slumped forward and put his face in his hands, his talons digging into his forehead.  
"So I basically told the woman who I wanted to invite to a rendezvous that I'd rather go out with a marriage candidate."

"Yes, pretty much." Nihlus shook his head.

"Spirits take me." Garrus considered punching his fist through the table but decided against it. He didn't have time anyway, he had to get ready. He got up to change his clothes.

Nihlus eyed him with a critical look and spoke quietly, "Maybe it's better this way."

"What the _futuo_ do you mean?" Garrus snarled angry down at him.

"You really think your father will stop controlling your life? After everything he has done so far? What if you get together with Shepard, will she have to hide whenever he calls? You'll live a secret life with her? What's she supposed to do when the next _praecipit convenire_ comes up?" Nihlus looked at him and Garrus stared back. His mind couldn't comprehend the picture Nihlus was painting. The red turian continued, "Shepard is my friend, I care for her. She may be complicated and annoying sometimes but she doesn't deserve to be someone's dirty secret."

Nihlus got up and grabbed Garrus hard on his upper arm, "Unless you break with your family and start deciding for your own life, you can never really be with her. So - leave her alone." His subharmonics underlined the order harshly.

Garrus turned away, when had things become so serious? So far he had just met a pleasant alien and he certainly was attracted to her. But Nihlus made it sound like they were about to be bondmates and that was taking things a bit too far. He growled in annoyance as he put on a fresh tunic and pants.

"You know nothing about my life. I've gotten as far away as possible from my family, that's why I live here on the Citadel. I'm in control of my life."

Nihlus stepped in his way. "Are you?" He sang a challenge to Garrus. "You know, I checked out your files. I had wondered why you ended up here in C-Sec and not in Spectre training like I recommended."

Garrus trilled a question and Nihlus smiled at that.  
"Yes, I had recommended you, there was a mentor arranged for you, the messages were on the way. But your father made sure you never heard about that and got you this job at C-Sec instead."

"I'm good at my job." Garrus felt like he had to defend his life, prove that he lived on his own terms. "My father has made a good decision, it was his responsibility, that's how things are done." It sounded empty, even to himself.

"Take a step outside, Palaven boy." Nihlus put his hands on his shoulders. "I consider you my friend Garrus, and it pains me to see how you stop yourself. I saw how you looked at Shepard and I don't think that was just curiosity for sex with a human."

"I have had sex with human women before." Garrus groaned back to him.

"Have you now? Plural even?" Nihlus trilled in amusement. "Good, then you already know that it works and can be quite pleasant. So it's not just deviant curiosity that I saw, you _do_ like her. Why are you on the way to your _praecipit convenire_ then, instead of being with her now?"

Garrus trilled in defeat and annoyance. "I couldn't ... nevermind what I should have done. I already said that I would meet that woman, I'm sure you are not suggesting that I dishonour my whole family by not keeping my word."

Nihlus shook his head. "No, you have to go, I can see that. But think about your life, Garrus. Your father will not stop until you have a mate he agrees with and live basically the same life that he lives."

Garrus sighed, "The galaxy is changing, Frank always says that."

"Shepard says so too. It's probably very obvious for humans and a bit harder to see for us, the old council-races."

Garrus looked at Nihlus, wondering about his past. "Did your family approve of your choices?"

His friend turned away, his talons scratching against the side of his armor. "My father died when I was 16 and my mother sent me away to the military faster than a pyjack runs. My family is not from Palaven and low-tiered in the Hierarchy. So I guess it's easier for me to defy the old norms and rules of the turian way." He turned back to Garrus and put one hand back on his shoulder.  
"You have potential, Garrus. Find out what you want, find your _consilium_, carve your own way in this galaxy."

They both stared at each other until Nihlus broke away with a laugh. "Listen to me, sounding like a philosophy teacher in the old temples." He shook his head. "The council is waiting for me, I have to be on my way." He held out his arm with his omni-tool and Garrus' omni-tool lit up, receiving data.

"I gave you my own contact and I gave you Shepard's as well. I trust you will use it well." He bowed his head in a farewell and Garrus did the same.

As the door closed behind Nihlus Garrus stared at the contact entry for Shepard on his omni-tool. He hovered over the entry to call her but opened a message instead.  
He began typing: 'Hello Shepard, I'm sorry that ' He stopped. _Sorry for what? What are you sorry for, Garrus?_

He felt the urge to lie down but he was out of time. He had to get to the Presidium to the restaurant for the _praecipit convenire_. Snarling angrily he erased the last word and finished the message.

'Hello Shepard, I'm sorry for being an idiot. Garrus'

For a short time he hesitated, then he hit send.

* * *

The turian restaurant had a high ceiling and was decorated in traditional turian design. The walls were colored in dark red and green with blue ornaments. Comfortable chairs with high backrests were arranged around circular tables covered with dark red table cloth. On every table sat a little vase with white flowers, real _calilia_ from Palaven. Garrus had to hand it to his father, he had picked the perfect location for a _praecipit convenire_, or any kind of rendezvous.

He looked around the restaurant and he stopped on a beautiful turian woman sitting in front of the window. He recognized her from the picture his father had sent him along with the coordinates. The picture did not do her beauty justice. Her plates had a purple color, glimmering in the light. The tips of her short fringe wore a silver shine and she had painted the tips of her mandibles with red make-up. Her white markings made an elegant curve from her face down to her shoulders. The silver dress left her shoulders bare, it flowed loosely down from her neck to her waist where it was scrunched up by a belt, accentuating her narrow waist. Her long legs and her thin spurs were visible under the dress, shining purple. She was breathtaking.

It had been a long time since he had been with a turian woman. He imagined what she would look like without the dress, how her plates would shine. Her waist and her hips sharp and angular, perfectly fitting against his. How she would feel against him in a tight embrace, her talons scratching the skin between his plates. He would rub her spurs, making her squirm against him and she would massage him under his fringe, driving him crazy. Her hips would snap to his and her spurs would dig into his back. He would feel her vagina slide with delicious friction over him and grab him in a perfect fit.

'The Spirits sure have a sense of humour' Garrus thought to himself and the growl that left his throat had the turians close to him turn their heads. Only three days prior he would have looked forward to an evening with this beautiful woman. He waited for the instinctual response of his body towards her but nothing happened. She was the most attractive person in this restaurant but he was discreetly checking his omni-tool.

Shepard had not answered yet.

He closed the interface with a sigh and made his way over to the beautiful woman. A few looks of envy followed him as she waved towards him.

"Garrus Vakarian?" she asked, her voice high like the sound of tiny bells.

He bowed his head to her. "You must be Sapita Fedorian. I am honoured to meet you." _Best stick with the traditions._

Garrus sat down opposite of her and looked at her. "My father should have prepared me that he found the most beautiful woman on all of Palaven to meet me here." _Compliments? Check._

She smiled back at him and trilled joyfully. "Thank you. I am also pleasantly surprised by you, my father has praised you and your abilities but he didn't mention how handsome you are."

Garrus trilled his embarrassment and said "I ... thank you, although I don't quite believe your assessment." A subject change was very necessary. "Have you already ordered? I'm sorry if you had to wait, my day was very eventful and I lost track of time." _Apologized? Check._

She trilled reassuringly with her beautiful voice. "I have arrived shortly before you, I only ordered wine from Oma Ker for us. Shall we order our food?"

He nodded at that and looked at the menu on the datapad. The selection was extensive and exquisite, but he settled on a simple Palaven dish that he had not had since he left home. She ordered an asari-inspired dish, in the dextro version of course. An unusual choice, Garrus wondered what that meant.

As they waited for their food to arrive he checked his omni-tool again. Still no answer from Shepard. He realized that he had to try to start a conversation. "My father has neglected to mention anything about you. So what do you do and what brings you to the Citadel?" _Small talk? Check._

"I'm a surgeon, I worked on military hospital ships since I left the fighting squads of basic. But I have accepted a position at Huerta Hospital here on the Citadel, starting in two weeks. I plan on staying here on the Citadel with..." She stopped and looked at him, trilling a tone of reservation.

Garrus trilled back his confusion and for a few seconds they just stared at each other. He stretched his throat and decided to come clear with her. "Sapita, we both are here because our parents have made a _praecipit convenire_ for us. Personally I don't see any obligation to pretend like we are here out of common interest. You are beautiful and probably intelligent, and on any other day in the past I might even have courted you. But I don't plan to enter _collocatio_ with you, and I don't think you do either, right?"

Sapita growled dismay and Garrus panicked. It sounded like she had taken the arrangement seriously. He saw her stretching her throat and mentally prepared himself for the attack for his dishonourable behaviour.

She leaned forward and looked him in the eyes. "I don't expect any _affectus_ from you, we are here because of an arrangement. I assume this isn't you first _praecipit convenire_?" Garrus trilled agreement and waited for her to continue. "It isn't the first for me either and until I decide to go through with a _collocatio_ my parents will continue to set me up with these. I'm tired of it." She leaned back and hummed harshly. "I have a bondmate but ..." she paused and sang quietly in what Garrus could only interpret as love.

He hummed his confusion and asked: "Why don't you enter _collocatio_ with your bondmate then?" Discreetly he checked his omni-tool again. _Still no answer from Shepard._

Sapita growled again and the people on the next table turned to look at them. She quieted her voice a little and leaned forward. "My bondmate is unacceptable for my parents. She... she is asari. My parents would never accept her or the child our bond could give us one day." A happy little smile had entered her face. "Love is just a silly asari thing for traditional turians. They would never understand it and our child ...", a painful trill left her, "our child would be hated."

Garrus hummed in empathy. He was surprised by that, he really felt compassion for her. But he didn't understand why she wanted go through with the _collocatio_ then. "So what do you want to do?"

She trilled with determination. "I want you and I to have the _collocatio_. We are a good match, I think we will get along well. Our families will be united, rise up the tiers of the Hierarchy, just like they want. We will take my bondmate and whoever you are checking your omni-tool for as part of our family to us. I might even have your child if our bondmates agree to that. That's the traditional turian way, it has been done before."

"Traditional?" Garrus snorted in ager. "Taking your and my bondmate as _pacalla_, as mistresses, is your solution? I don't care if that is a tradition, it's dishonourable!"

Sapita keened quietly and Garrus immediately felt sorry for her. She laid her head back against the backrest and closed her eyes. Her voice was almost a whisper, "I just want to be left alone, I want to live with Jinala and not worry about my parents. I don't want to go on another _praecipit convenire_ ever again." She pressed her talons into her forehead. "I'm just so tired of all this. I see Jinala smiling at me every morning and I know I can't give her what she deserves. Spirits, she chose this dress for me so that I look nice for my _praecipit convenire_!" Her sad keen got so loud that almost all turians stared at Garrus aggressively, assuming that her distress was his fault.

"Spirits." Garrus didn't know what else to say and was saved by the arrival of their food. Sapita had her subvocals under control again and they both ate quietly. Garrus checked his omni-tool once more. He opened up another message, 'Shepard, please answer me.' He hit send before he could change his mind.

His food was delicious and it reminded him of his mother in an almost painful way. He wondered what she would say to a human bondmate. She had always been more open minded, less traditional than his father. Would she accept Shepard? _Aren't you getting ahead of yourself here, Garrus?_

He noticed that Sapita looked at him. She trilled questioningly, "So who are you constantly checking your omni-tool for?"

Garrus hummed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I find myself in a situation not unlike yours and it's... unusual for me. I don't even know if she's interested in me that way but I can guarantee that my father would not approve."

"Assuming she is interested, what are you going to do?" It was clear that she was genuinely curious, looking for some kind of guidance.

Garrus sighed and took a sip of wine. "I have had the most eventful day today and that would still be true without any 'falling in love' as the humans apparently call it. I have met this woman and she - I don't know how it happened but I find myself thinking about her all the time. And in under an hour I managed to get to know her, find _affectus_ and scare her away. That must be a new record." He groaned. "Sitting here with a beautiful woman is probably not helping my case."

"So, she is human then?"

"Yes, she is. You know, they call me an expert in humans at C-Sec but Spirits know I don't know what the _futuo_ I'm doing."

"If she is human she probably wouldn't think of me as beautiful so you might be safe there." Sapita said thoughtfully.

"Huh?" he trilled out confused. It had never even occurred to Garrus that turians might look unattractive to humans. Had he been kidding himself? Was that the reason she had left?

Sapita hummed thoughtfully. "So what is your plan? You are sitting here, with me, because your father has made it his _decretum_. But you still don't want to follow the tradition? I know that feeling, believe me, but if you are telling me about honour and love then why are you even here?"

Garrus felt his mandibles clamp against his face. "I have to admit, this is a new development for me. Before today I never really questioned the old traditions. Maybe I thought that leaving Palaven would be enough to get away from the old turian way. But today has shown me that plain distance in lightyears is not enough. Not only that, a friend has challenged me to find my own way in life and now you are asking me the same questions. It's like the Spirits are trying to tell me something."

"So you think I should break with my family and be with my bondmate? Without family, without the guidance of the elders?" She looked scared.

Garrus trilled loudly, it wasn't like he had all the answers! "All I know is that we cannot live the same lives that our parents are living. Maybe they cannot guide us anymore. The galaxy is changing, just ask the humans. We have to change too. The first step for that could be leaving the old traditions by the wayside and finding our own path."

She stared at him and her subvocals were singing all over the scale. "Garrus Vakarian, this is certainly not what I had expected from this evening." She took a sip from her wine and her subharmonics were chiming in excitement. "I also never would have thought that a turian would listen to humans."

"Yes, I get that a lot lately." He had to hold down his grumble of annoyance. "Humans are very adaptable. It may be their biggest advantage. They can bring new perspectives and they question everything." Garrus said. "I don't know how they deal with family issues though, they may have the same problems as we have. But knowing how adaptable they are maybe they break those bonds easier than us."

She looked at him thoughtfully, tilting her head to the side. "I'm not sure if that is a good thing. Turians have defined themselves by the families and colonies they come from for thousands of years."

Garrus sang agreement. "True. To be honest, I'm not sure about it myself. So far I have neither broken with my family nor made advancements on that human woman I keep thinking about. So I'm just floating like a hanar here."

His omni-tool gave a small chime at that moment. Shepard had answered his messages. He didn't even bother to excuse himself before looking at it.

'Hello Garrus, sorry, I was busy. Why are you an idiot?'

He typed as fast as he could. 'I let you go without explaining this whole situation. I'm sorry if I upset you.'

He stared at the interface, waiting for her answer. Sapita trilled at him in empathy. He was about to start another message when her answer appeared.  
'Aren't you supposed to be having a rendezvous with your future wife right now?'

He could hardly answer fast enough. 'She is not my future wife, I'm not interested in her.'

Her response came equally fast, 'I hope you have told that to the beautiful lady sitting there with you, she might be very disappointed otherwise!'

His head snapped up and he stared out the window. The Presidium had gotten darker, simulating evening and many people were ambling around. At first he couldn't make her out but then he saw her. She was sitting sideways on a bench facing the lake. She wore dark armor and had a bottle of something next to her. Her face was turned towards the restaurant and illuminated in gold by the glow of her omni-tool.

Sapita looked confused and was trying to see what had him so interested outside the window.  
He pointed towards the bench.  
"She is sitting right there."  
"Her?"  
"Yes, her."

Sapita stared at the person and then smiled and raised her glass to her in greeting. Shepard raised her bottle and dipped her head. She turned back to him, "How did you know she was there?"

Garrus couldn't stop grinning with a trill. "She called you a beautiful lady."

He was about to type another message to Shepard when suddenly Sapita stuck her talons painfully in his hand and hissed at him. "Garrus, if this is the woman you want, you better get your ass out there right now!"

He hesitated for a second. Then he grinned, "Yes, ma'am!".  
Throwing a credit chit on the table he almost ran out of the door.

()()()

* * *

Translations for the latin words I'm happily mangling:

a _praecipit convenire = a prearranged rendezvous / date_  
a _praecipit collocatio = a prearranged bonding / marriage._  
_stercus = shit, bullshit_  
_consilium = purpose_  
_affectus = love, passion_  
_pacalla = concubine_  
_decretum = ruling, decision_  
_futuo = fuck_

Someone got Jane-Austen-romantic-sparkles all over my fanfiction again! I can promise more action and drama in the next chapter.

I never explained that "stretching his throat" for turians is the equivalent to "clearing his throat" for humans. So it's what a turian would do if he/she is embarrassed.

Thanks to Credete for not completely losing his mind editing this chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello dear readers!**  
**First of all big, huge thanks to everyone who reviewed this little story and thanks to everyone who put it on alert, honestly, you guys make me so happy!**  
**Now, on with the show!**

* * *

()()()

He skidded to a halt next to her, and stared. She looked up to him, surprise on her face. For a few breaths they both just stared at each other. Suddenly, she smiled.  
Her brilliant smile hit him like a punch to the gizzard and Garrus' knees turned weak. He slumped down on the bench next to her and she giggled in surprise.

"I would offer you some beer but I don't know how you deal with levo-beer." She said, holding up her bottle.

He held up a hand. "Thanks, but I don't need anything." He turned to her. "I'm glad to see you."

"Me too." she said in a quiet voice. After a few breaths she spoke again. "Shouldn't you be in the restaurant with your beautiful lady?"

He smiled at her, his mandibles wide. "I'd rather be here with you." He longed to touch her, to get closer to her. His subharmonics were singing out of control.

She put the bottle down on the floor and turned towards him. She looked him directly in the eyes. "Garrus, I don't know how this works in turian... courtship. The way I understand it, you left a woman you are supposed to marry alone over there to come over here and I don't even know... I'm not sure if we both want the same..." She looked down on her hands and made a small laugh. "You know I'm not even good at this with my own species."

She looked up to him with a lopsided grin. "Usually I just have sex."

Garrus swallowed hard.

She giggled a little and without warning she took his hand in hers. He missed at least one breath.

"But then I just leave and never see him again. That's not what I want with you."

Her hand felt cool against his. He was glad that he didn't wear gloves tonight. His thumb started stroking the soft skin on the back of her hand autonomously. He tried to take in every detail, the little bumps on her hand, the calloused tips that showed practise in holding a gun.

Suddenly she turned and was on her knees on the bench. That move made her taller and her face was right in front of him. Her blue eyes never left his.

"As I was saying, I don't know how turians do this but if you were human I would do this." With surprising strength she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him towards her, her touch under his fringe enough to make him stop breathing. She tilted her head a little to the side and pressed her lips to his mouth.

_Soft. Warm._

She suckled on his upper mouthplate and it felt incredible. He relaxed his mouth and it opened slightly. Suddenly he felt her tongue entering his mouth, the tip of her tongue grazing over his mouthplates. Her free hand stroked his mandible and her tongue danced along the inside of his upper mouthplate.

_Spirits!_  
_Yes, this is kissing. Please never stop._

Garrus opened his mouth a little more and experimentally touched the tip of his tongue against hers. The feeling of this touch went through him like a live current, he wouldn't have been surprised if he could see sparks running on his skin. She gasped and her hand under his fringe grabbed him harder.

He put his hands on her back, silently cursing her armor for shielding her from him. There was this need - _need!_ - to get closer to her, to touch her, to hold her, to have her whole body wrapped around his own. His subvocals sang out in desire.

The need for air finally broke them apart and they were panting, staring at each other.

She drew in air like she had been drowning.  
"Wow. That was ... you have kissed before right?" she asked him with a breathless smile.

His voice was not quite working. "Yes, but it was never like this. You... you..." - he was out of words. In an urgent need he pressed his forehead to hers, knowing that he spread his scent all over her. He didn't care.

A light trill behind them caught their attention.  
Sapita was standing behind the bench, looking amused. "You do realize that people are watching you eat each others face?"

With her subharmonics she trilled a question at Garrus, knowing very well what he had done with his forehead to hers.  
Garrus resisted to stretch his throat and just hummed. Shepard looked confused between them but didn't seem to be all that embarrassed.

"I'm sorry I ruined your rendezvous." she said with a smile. She was still raised on her knees and still had her hands on him, absentmindedly stroking his shoulder with her many fingers. Sapita stared at her hands and then her eyes moved up to her lips. She swallowed and then said "I never thought I'd see the appeal... it's called kissing, right? With your mouth... why do you do that?"

Shepard smiled even more, "Our face and especially the mouth area is full of nerve endings, extremely sensitive. Same goes for the tongue. Judging from Garrus' reaction there, it is quite pleasurable for turians as well." She looked past her where a tiny asari was standing a few meters back. "Is she with you?" she asked Sapita.

Sapita nodded, "Yes, that is my bondmate Jinala. I called her to pick me up." She looked lovingly over to her. "We have a lot to talk about."

Awareness showed on Shepard's face and she squeezed Garrus' shoulder. Then she grinned at Sapita. "You could try kissing with her, asari have soft lips as well. Just start slow and soft..." Sapita's eyes got wide and she stared at her bondmate with visible desire, swallowing hard.

Jinala had noticed them looking at her and she walked over to them. She stopped next to Sapita, stood up on her tiptoes and they lightly touched their foreheads to each other. Then she turned to Garrus and Shepard and smiled at them with a hint of insecurity.

"Hello. I'm Jinala." her voice was just as high and clear as Sapita's. "I'm Sapita's... I came to pick her up. What were you talking about?"

Shepard smiled warmly. "We were talking about kissing and that you two should try it." The smile turned into a grin now.

The other couple flustered and their movements were like mirror images of each other, hiding their faces behind their hands. Shepard laughed friendly and her face showed true compassion. "I can help you, if you want. Just try it, see if you like it."

Jinala's blue face had turned a shade darker and her eyes never left her bondmate even as she was talking to Shepard.  
"I thought that maybe... it is a bit unhygienic?"

Shepard shrugged her shoulders. "Not worse than the exchange of other bodily fluids." Garrus groaned at the image that conjured.

Jinala stood up on her tiptoes again and whispered, "Would you like to try it?"

Sapita trembled and her voice was a hoarse whisper so very unlike her normal bell-like song. "Now? Right here?"

"At least here we have an expert to give us advice" Jinala said with a smile.

Sapita nodded, apparently unable to form words. She lowered her head towards her bondmate and Jinala's mouth came close to her mouthplates. Shepard leaned forward over the back of the bench and began to whisper to Jinala.

"Put your lips softly on her mouth, just a soft touch. Now take her upper lip between yours and gently suckle, yes like that, don't pull, just a little suck. Sapita, relax, you're all tense. Open your mouth a little. Jinala, you can use your tongue to stroke over her mouth. Yes, just like that."

The tiny asari tongue was visible from Shepard's and Garrus's viewpoint, dancing lightly across Sapita's mouthplates. The turian woman's eyes were wide and she was trembling.

Shepard whispered again. "Sapita, move your tongue forward and Jinala, you have to be careful of her teeth but you can stroke her tongue with yours." The women both hesitated but Shepard whispered again, "Trust me, just try it."

The asari and the turian woman moved closer again and Garrus recognized the moment when their tongues touched. Both their eyes went wide and Sapita's legs began to shake, she had to hold on to the back of the bench to not fall over. Garrus knew exactly how she felt. Jinala's hands went to her bondmate's neck and it looked like she had to hold on for dear life.

Shepard let out a small giggle. "Now I have to remind you that there are people watching! I think you got it now, maybe you should try it again somewhere private."

The women broke apart, panting, staring at each other in wonder. Sapita took her bondmate's hand and visibly struggled to get in control of herself again. "Yes, we go. We... to go... home. Now."

She was still slightly shaking when she turned towards Shepard and Garrus. "Thank you. Thank you both. I... we..." She turned to look at Jinala with a loving smile. "There is something about to change." Her voice was steady again. She typed on her omni-tool and both Shepard and Garrus received and accepted the data she send them.

"I wish that we stay in touch. I want to..." She seemed unsure what to say and Garrus could relate. He send out his address as well and trilled reassuringly to her.

"Spirits watch over you. I'm sure you'll make the right decision and I want to hear about it. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything." He hummed his support again.

Shepard looked at him curiously and then turned to her omni-tool and send her address as well. "I would also like to offer my help. If you need anything or have questions about kissing..." she smiled and closed one eye for half a second, "just send me a message, I'll get back to you as soon as I can, promise."

They said their goodbyes and Shepard and Garrus watched the two women walk away, holding hands. The turian and the tiny asari looked at each other until they had reached a skycar parked on the side. They saw them get in and program the destination and just as the car rose up in the air, they saw the two bondmates turn towards each other, their mouths touching.

Shepard giggled, "Looks like they're putting in some more practise at kissing."

Garrus hummed in agreement, forgetting that a subvocal hum was not a real answer for humans who had to rely on words all the time.

He suddenly felt her hand on his chest and she was looking at him fascinated. "Do that again." she demanded.

"Do what again?"

"That hum."

He hummed again, this time a reassuring tone. Her eyes went wide and there was something else in her eyes, staring at him. Her mouth fell open in a near silent "Oh."

He looked at her, unsure of what was going on.

"Your whole chest vibrates when you do that. And that hum and vibration go through me, through my whole body." In a sudden movement she ripped off the front of her armor and scooted closer to him so that her chest was pressed against his. She spoke right next to his mandible. "Do it again."

He hummed. He felt her shiver, pressing her soft chest on his hard cowl and her head fell forward, her breath blowing over his neck. She was so close. He felt his genital plates shifting. He desperately tried to hold on to the realities of them sitting on a bench on the Presidium, people walking around and staring at them and this wonderful woman pressing herself against him, trembling.

She raised her head to look at him and he recognized what he had seen in her eyes before. Lust.

"That is..." she was breathing hard, "You should need a license for that. That hum is like... like a sex drug."

She kissed him lightly and then moved back, only her forehead still pressed to his. She whispered with a hoarse voice, "I want you so bad right now, you have no idea."

"Oh, I'm sure I have a pretty good idea" he replied, his voice shaking. He held her by her shoulders and felt his forehead releasing his scent again. He really shouldn't have done that, not without talking to her about it but he couldn't stop. He had to mark her with his scent. No one else should ever touch her again.

Garrus knew he was being ridiculous, he acted like he had just flown down from the trees like turian ancestors in ancient times.

She pulled his head down towards her and kissed the top of his fringe. Garrus grabbed her shoulders harder. _Was there any place she wouldn't kiss and would it ever not feel incredible?_

"I swear, I wish we could just check into a hotel right now and continue this," she said with a sigh, "but I actually have some work to do. I'm supposed to meet a contact in a little while." She picked up the breastplate from the floor and snapped it back on.

"I'm coming with you."

"You can't, Garrus, you're not even wearing armor."

"But I'm C-Sec, I know my way around the Citadel, I can help you."

"Armor, Garrus, and you not wearing any!" Her hands indicated all of him and apparently displeased with the lack of reaction from him she punched him hard on his arm.  
He clamped his mandibles tight to avoid showing his wince.

"Do we have time to stop at C-Sec? I could put on armor there."

She checked her omni-tool and shook her head. "No, no time, we have to go now if we want to make it there on time." She put on her gloves and got up and turned to leave.

He had to stop her. "I stay behind you, keep in cover, watch your back."

She seemed to consider this. Then she threw her head back in annoyance. "Right. Someone has ordered, no asked me to train my leadership potential cause they want to me to be more than just a grunt... " She sighed in annoyance again. "So I'm supposed to get used to working with a team. Might as well start now."

She straightened her back and clasped her hands together behind her back. She looked so much like his old sergeant, he felt himself standing to attention in reflex. Her tone was all commanding officer. "Do you have a gun?"

"I have a pistol." He swallowed a 'Sir' and pulled out his spare Striker pistol he had taken with him out of pure habit. He certainly had not expected to get into a firefight tonight.

Her pose relaxed again. "Well, it ain't pretty but it will have to do." She indicated with a dip of her head that he was to follow her as she started walking.  
He noticed that her armor had no Alliance markings or any at all. He wondered what kind of a mission would have her alone in unmarked armor, walking into some ugly corner of the ward.

Garrus didn't have to ask, she started talking about it while they walked. Their path took them far away from the beautiful area of the Presidium and down into the ward. He wondered why they had not taken a skycar. She walked with a brisk pace that Garrus found comfortable to keep up with. Her voice was low and quiet and it was clear that her words were only intended for him.

"This isn't really an Alliance operation. This is a mission for the Alliance NIS, the investigative branch of the Alliance Navy. I've been doing missions with them for the past four months. Mostly I work alone, infiltrating, get the intel and get out again, that sort of thing you know? Some of it is general intelligence, some is plain busting criminals, the sort you probably run into all the time." She looked up to him and he nodded, not knowing what else to do. He could hardly tell her how that look into her blue eyes had taken his breath away just now.

She continued talking in her deep voice, "The ANIS is after a guy who deals in some nasty weapons and is involved in the death of three marines on Arcturus station. I followed his trail here but I lost him on the Citadel. I'm supposed to meet an informant who can tell me more about him over there in that warehouse."

She pointed to towards a grimy building that looked dark and uninviting even in the never changing bright light of the wards.

Garrus stopped her walk by grabbing her arm. "Shepard, fill me in, what do you know?"  
She looked slightly embarrassed.  
"Sorry, I've done this alone for so long, I forgot." She looked up to the Citadel sky. "Well the weapons dealer's name is Verringer, he was caught on camera at the crime scene, three dead marines and an asari matriarch. We..."

"Wait - Verringer?" Garrus needed a second to recall why he knew that name. "We just busted his warehouse. Almost got blown up in it. Found weapons, drugs, and coolant."

"Coolant? How weird." Shepard looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You almost got blown up?"

"Just a little. I'll tell you later, okay?" She looked worried but nodded. He continued, " We had another reason why we raided the place, had something to do with weapons as well. We found the cooling agents by accident. We, Johnson and me, have this case with organ transplants and we figured they would need lot's of coolant to preserve the organs. That is actually the connection how Frank met Sarah but we can talk about that some other time. Have you heard anything of a Matriarch Gars'ada?"

Shepard stared at him. "Well, yes, she's dead. We found her dead with the three marines on Arcturus station. What is the connection?"

"She actually owns - eh owned - the company that Verringer is running in her name. As far as we know she wasn't a criminal."

"Well that's good to hear, it puts the other guys in a better light. We still don't know how the marines were involved in this." She took out a heavy pistol, the like of which he had never seen before, to check it once and snapped it back to her she started to walk casually towards the front door.

Garrus made a rasping sound in his throat like humans did when they tried to get someones attention. Her head snapped around and she looked at him like she had completely forgotten that he was there.

"Right, I was supposed to tell you what we are about to do here." She examined the outside of the building. "There are some stairs on the outside there, see if you can get to a window overlooking the inside up there. I'm expected, so I just walk in through the front door."

"That's more of a sniping position, and I only have a pistol..."

"I know, it's not ideal but it will just have to do."

She put her gloved hand on his arm and smiled her wonderful smile that Garrus just wanted to drink in. "Just watch the surroundings, everything will be fine."

Garrus nodded. "I'll have your back, Shepard."

She walked towards the door and Garrus sprinted over to the stairs. His clothing enabled him to move quietly but he still felt uncomfortably exposed without armor. The window was a bit high up on the wall. He had to move a box and step on it, but then he had an excellent view over the mostly empty warehouse.

Shepard had already entered and looked completely relaxed. She had her hand on the grip of her pistol but didn't raise it. She just walked in, there was no cover, no protection at all. Was she crazy? Garrus shook his head, he had to talk about her disregard for safety later.

A salarian, standing next to a few shipping containers was looking at her nervously. Three krogan were hulking, like krogan do, behind him. The salarian fidgeted with a handgun, clearly not used to handling a weapon regularly. The krogans on the other hand looked very capable and Garrus felt even more worried. Shepard was smiling! She wasn't intimidated by any of this. Casually she waltzed over and leaned her elbows on a shipping container. This posture had her backside jutting out. From his viewpoint this presented him with a perfect view of her armored ass.

Garrus swallowed a groan. He couldn't let this distract him now, he had to be attentive, protect her. _When did you start to find a humans ass so attractive anyway?_

She was talking to the salarian and Garrus tuned his audio implant to his and her omni-tool. He was relieved when he could hear her.  
"So, I have the information you wanted right here." She padded a pocket on her thigh. "So, what do you have for me?"

The salarian spoke with a squeaky voice. "I can give you all of Verringer's and Matriarch Gars'ada's business contacts, financial supporters and connections. And I can assure you ..." he made a squeaky little laugh, "you will be very interested in those connections."

Shepard straightened and her carefree posture fell off her like a coat. She was all business now and her hand on her pistol a clear threat. Garrus was amazed at the change and had to force himself to tear his eyes away from her. He looked at the three krogan, two had green crests and one was red. They all wore heavy armor, scratched and dented. No insignias as far as he could see, freelancers apparently.

He saw the red krogan doing something with his omni-tool, him even having one was unusual already. But he noticed that Shepard's omni-tool lit up at the same time. She didn't look at the red krogan but that in itself was a giveaway because she never let her attention stray away from the other guys. Garrus wondered what that meant.

Down below the exchange went through without a problem and Garrus saw Shepard turn and walk out. He hurried down the stairs to meet her. She looked over to him but shook her head once. She walked quickly away from the building but into a different path. He tried to keep up without indicating that they were together. Suddenly she stopped and Garrus hid behind a corner.

After a minute the red krogan came out of the building next to her. Garrus aimed his pistol at him, knowing full well that pistol slugs were hardly efficient in stopping a krogan. But the red krogan just stood at an arms length away from Shepard and they talked. Suddenly he turned and looked directly at Garrus and shouted "I can smell you from here, turian. And I can smell you on her too."

Shepard raised an eyebrow in surprise at that but didn't say anything. Garrus walked over to them. The krogan snorted, "Normally I wouldn't trust a young hatchling like you but Shepard seems to trust you and I trust her judgement." Garrus still couldn't stop the hostile growl leaving his throat. He moved closer to Shepard to protect her.

The human woman looked fragile compared to the krogan but he was not threatening towards her. He looked at Garrus with a condescending smirk and then back to Shepard. Then he sniffed the air and grinned. "Shepard." The krogan said with his rumbling deep voice. "You can't jump him now despite all this mating scent in the air. We don't have time." He laughed out once.

Shepard flushed pink and nudged Garrus in his side with her elbow. Then she straightened again and spoke seriously. "Wrex, this is my friend Garrus Vakarian. Garrus, this is my old friend Urdnot Wrex. He has some more information concerning our squeaky salarian." _She called him squeaky just like I did_.

The krogan rumbled, "The guy has started a new business with batarian slave traders. He has a batch of new slaves in a cargohold in the lower wards that he wants to transfer very soon. I just got the time a few minutes ago, we have to get there fast to stop him."

Garrus was confused, what was the krogan trying to gain by giving Shepard this information? Shepard looked at her omni-tool and then back at the krogan. "We should call C-Sec, and get Garrus in armor before we get into that."

The krogan shook his head, making the air waver around him. "No time for that. Call C-Sec but we can't wait for them." He turned to walk away and called back over his shoulder, "Be there Shepard, I'll be fighting from the inside."

"Alright Wrex, but after this you and I are going to have words!" Shepard shouted after him, pointing with one of her fingers at him. Garrus couldn't believe that she threatened a krogan like that.

The red krogan just nodded and disappeared inside the building.

Shepard was checking her omni-tool and then looked at him. "You need armor and a rifle, and we have to be at these coordinates in like ten minutes. Options? Ideas?" He ran through his options, even if he got Frank to bring him his stuff it would take more than ten minutes. Shepard was checking her omni-tool again and suddenly started running. "Come on Garrus, there is a armor and weapons dealer around the corner." She sprinted fast, he had to take long strides to keep up.

Did she expect him to just buy new armor? He couldn't really afford that. Before he could stop her she ran into the store. Somehow, with a brilliant smile and purring compliments, she convinced the salarian behind the counter to hand over a turian armor set for him for 'testing'. In the same manner he got an assault rifle to 'test'. As he hurriedly put the armor on she promised the salarian salesman an endorsement from him if he was satisfied with the armor.

"One day, an endorsement by him will be invaluable, trust me, he will be a hero!" She sounded so convincing that Garrus stopped closing latches for a second and stared at her. She indicated towards him to hurry up and ran out of the store. He scrambled behind her into a skycar she had ordered. "Hurry, hurry!", she yelled, "We're fucking late! Call your friends at C-Sec, we need backup!"

He hesitated. "Do you really trust this krogan? Couldn't he lead you in a trap?"

She looked at him, clearly irritated. "Yes, I trust him, can you trust me?"

He looked into her eyes, "Yes okay, I trust you." _I do_.

She turned back to flying the skycar manually and extremely fast. It was nerve wrecking. He thought more than once that they would crash into another car but they always got away at the last moment. He called C-Sec for backup and to distract him from the near-death situations happening in front of him. Just as he had transmitted the coordinates, Shepard pulled the car down fast and landed it rather inelegantly on the roof of a two-story building, screeching and skidding.

Garrus let out the breath he had been holding to stop himself from screaming. Shepard was already running towards the edge of the roof. She spoke into her omni-tool, "We're here Wrex. Situation?" She threw herself on the ground and peered over the edge down into the back court of the building next to them. Garrus scooted up next to her, wincing when he heard his brandnew armor scratching on the ground.

Shepard apparently received some reply from Wrex that he didn't hear. She realized that as he looked at her and started to link up their omni-tools. "Wrex is ready, they will be moving the cargo down the alley to a little illegal spaceport hidden somewhere. We have to get down there now. I want you behind me, check the surrounding buildings for unexpected guests. I confront them and Wrex will be our surprise behind their backs. Let's go."

She scooted back and got up to run over to a set of rusty stairs. Garrus held her back by her arm, he didn't like her plan at all. "It would be better if I confronted them, I'm C-Sec. And you would be vulnerable..." He stopped, because her eyes narrowed and the look she gave him was frightening.

She growled, actually growled at him and spoke very quietly, "This is not an official C-Sec operation with me here. Stick to the plan."

He nodded, too annoyed to answer her with words.

As they walked down the street, a door opened in the building and let out the three krogan they had seen before and two turians along with the squeaky salarian. In between them seven small children, asari and human were chained together. Garrus had to bite back on the hateful keen he wanted to scream. _Children_!

Slavers were already the worst of the worst but slavers who traded children? The worst _stercus_ of the lowest life forms.

Shepard had her heavy pistol drawn and trained on the salarian. Garrus raised his Assault rifle as well, almost shaking in anger. Shepard stepped forward, "You are under arrest by the ANIS for slave trading. Drop your weapons!" She spoke with authority but Garrus considered it a needless gesture. Those were slave traders and mercenaries, why did she waste her time talking to them?

In that second a shot rang out and hit the ground next to Shepard, spraying shrapnel on her leg. Garrus cursed, he hadn't checked the roof of the building behind him. He aimed with his assault rifle and shot at the assailant. It wasn't a sniper, but his shots were still well enough to take the shooter down. In the meantime a full-on firefight had started between the salarian and the turian mercenaries on one side and - surprisingly - all three krogan and Shepard on the other side. Shepard and the krogan had taken cover behind some of the many containers that were always scattered around the wards. Behind one box the red krogan, Wrex, was protecting the children with his massive body. He held up a biotic barrier, enclosing the crying children inside a shimmering blue bubble.

More turians appeared on the roof and came running into the road from the building. Shepard's heavy pistol apparently even had a scope and she took out the snipers on the roof with frightening precision. Garrus sorely missed his sniper rifle or even his regular pistol. The assault rifle he was 'testing' wasn't correctly calibrated and shot slightly off the mark, he had to compensate by aiming a bit to the left. He grew more annoyed at that by the minute. Finally he switched to his old Striker pistol. It didn't have the same kind of punch as the assault rifle but at least it was calibrated.

Shepard and Garrus' shooting with the work of three krogan shotguns soon sent the surviving mercs running. Shepard indicated to Garrus and the krogans to follow her in her pursuit of the fleeing turians. But she had a different order for Wrex. "Protect the children Wrex, take them to C-Sec."

"You got it, Shepard." He turned towards the children and removed their chains. Garrus saw with bewilderment how the huge krogan bent down to pick up a probably injured human boy and gathered the other children around him. They quickly moved away from the firefight.

Shepard ordered the two other krogan on a path around the building to cut off the mercs escape. They hesitated, apparently irritated to get ordered around by a human. Shepard stepped up to them and made her voice even deeper and louder, reminding them to either step up their game or get lost. The krogans decided for getting lost and lumbered in the other direction. Shepard shrugged her shoulders and mumbled "Mercs" as she walked past Garrus.

They moved carefully but as fast as they could from cover to cover, following the turian mercs. Garrus moved up to Shepard, who carefully peered around a corner before running again.  
"Did you expect them to listen to you?"

Shepard sighed, "No, not really. They're just mercs, they blew their contract for the kids, which was nice of them, they didn't have any obligation to follow me. It might have been different if Wrex was here."

"Wrex is also just a merc. Honestly, how could you leave the children with him?"

Shepard rolled her eyes and slid over another box, rolling over her shoulder on the ground and pressing herself against another container. "The children are under the protection of Urdnot Wrex, krogan Battlemaster and my friend. You think that'll be a problem?" There was a challenge in her look back towards him.

Garrus had scrambled over to her position with a bit less elegance. He still felt clumsy in the unfamiliar armor. "Well, he's a krogan? I mean, Spirits! A krogan! And a merc." He couldn't quite fathom the idea.

She sighed and looked at him. "Garrus, I left the children in the care of a krogan Battlemaster who probably has buried more infants in his lifetime so far, than the number of children he is with right now. There is no one in this galaxy who is more protective of children than a krogan." She looked him in the eyes. "He will do everything in his power to get them to safety."

Garrus stretched his throat with a low trill. He had never thought about the Genophage like that. Burying so many children. Shepard seemed to read his face as he understood her reasoning because her look got softer. "Trust me, Garrus. The children will be fine."

He could only nod as his gizzard clenched around the intense feelings inside him that he couldn't quite place. _How about you finally give her the trust that you promised?_

Another short sprint took them to a construction site. They had plenty of cover but so did the mercs. Garrus couldn't find a good position to cover the whole area and any movement forward took them right in the line of fire. Shepard looked at him, clearly seeing the same problem. They were a bit further apart and Garrus heard her whisper through his comm implant. "How many do you see?"

"I see three from here, Shepard."

"Yeah, me too. They have us pinned." She looked up and around, looking for alternative paths. "I make my way over there and will take out the one on the right. As soon as he is down, you start shooting the guy closest to him."

"Shepard, there is no cover for you to get over there, that's crazy!"

"Have some faith, Garrus." She smiled at him and he swallowed his retort. He said he would trust her, it was about time he started with that.

Shepard moved further over to the side and rolled behind the half finished wall of the building. Then, instead of moving forward as he had expected her, she moved upwards. Using the scaffolding and the rough exterior of the unfinished wall, she climbed up fast and smooth. The building had no roof yet but when she reached the top she jumped from one beam to another, crouching on the beams in between. Her movements were elegant and efficient, and he was once again reminded that humans were predators.

He almost couldn't take his eyes off her. She moved with such an ease, quiet and fluid. Deadly.

To keep the mercs distracted, he fired a few shots blindly towards them, and they returned the favor in kind. Their shots hit his cover and he identified the sounds of three different guns. From his cover he could just see Shepard climbing down on the other side of the building and dropping herself the last three meters. Suddenly one gun didn't shoot anymore. Garrus risked looking over his cover, he could only see one of the mercs and fired a few shots with his pistol. The merc dropped with a cry. There was no more shooting.

Garrus heard Shepard in his ear. "All clear." He stood up and walked over to her. She knelt beside one of the mercs, checking out his combat rifle. Tossing it over to Garrus she said, "Here, I think this one at least shoots straight." _She noticed_. Looking around, he noticed that the three mercs were still breathing but seemed to be sedated.

Shepard grinned at him. "I got to use my new toys." She held three of the metal tubes he had seen in the afternoon (_was it really this afternoon?_) in her hand. "Worked perfectly, dropped quietly in seconds." She looked very pleased with herself.

_I really shouldn't doubt her abilities_.

They ran up to the next corner and as they looked around they could see the illegal spaceport with a shuttle waiting. The mercs were scattered about, covering the entrance while two were arguing with the batarians in the shuttle. Shepard indicated to Garrus that they should wait. Suddenly she turned her face towards him and looked at him seriously, "I have a question. What was that back there when I confronted the squeaky guy, Vakarian?"

"What?"

"Well I remember quite clearly almost getting shot. What happened?" She looked at him cold.

Garrus stretched his throat in embarrassment, "Sorry Shepard, I hadn't checked the roof. I was distracted ..."

"Distracted by what?" Her eyes had him bound.

"The children, the krogan, your command, you..." he averted her eyes, he didn't want to see the disgust in them.

Her voice was lighter as she spoke to the back of his fringe. "You have a problem with me in command? Is it because I'm female or because I'm human?"

He turned back to her and he recognized the hurt in her face. _What are you doing?_ "I don't care that you are human," he answered hurriedly, "really, I don't. And a female commander is not all that unusual in turian military either..."

Before he could continue they got distracted by shots ringing out in the spaceport.  
The mercs were trying to enter the shuttle but the batarians obviously were not there to save them. The shuttle lifted up without them but was stopped by a C-Sec ship before it could go to FTL. Shepard sighed in relief. "I'm glad C-Sec got here in time."

She looked around the corner of the cargo box they used as cover and shouted over to the left behind mercs. "You are surrounded and have nowhere to go. It's time to be smart and to drop your weapons now."

Garrus couldn't believe it. He hissed at her, "We should just shoot them. They were trading kids as slaves. Kids! They have no honour, they don't deserve to be treated so ... honourable!" He growled in anger. _Children! Turians! Slave trading children!_

Shepard put her hand on his arm. Her face was full of compassion and sadness and her eyes pulled him towards her. "Garrus, we are here for justice, not vengeance."

He stared at her. He knew she was right. He was a cop after all, he couldn't just shoot whoever got him angry. He nodded, couldn't say anything, his anger still fighting with his rationality.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_

()()()

* * *

_I really wanted to wait longer with the kissing but obviously I'm incapable of slowmance. These two, they just can't keep their hands and mouths from each other._

_I read a story on the kinkmeme a while back that had this background about the krogan being the best protectors of children. I thought that was an awesome idea and had to use it, so whoever wrote that, Kudos to you._

_ANIS = Alliance Navy Investigative Service_  
_(yes, I know)_


	10. Chapter 10

**This week on Jane Austen in Space:**

**An extra long chapter for you all.**  
**Our heroes find ways to work with each other, love and lust return and old traditions rear their ugly heads.**

* * *

()()()

"So tell me, what is the problem?"

She definitely didn't dance around the difficult topics.

Garrus didn't know what to say. He had so many problems right now, he lost count. How about that he completely lost his way as a cop and had to be reminded about justice versus vengeance? Or that he forgot to check for snipers because he was consumed by rage? Or how he questioned everything she said. And that he needed to protect her, keep her safe, his mate.

_Mate?_

Shepard still looked at him, waiting for his answer. They were walking back to the building that they had landed the skycar on. Around them C-Sec was taking the mercs into custody and forensic teams entered the building.

Patience was not one of Shepard's virtues. She took a breath and then spoke with confidence. "I like you Garrus, and I hope you like me too. But if we are to work together, then we can't let that distract us. And you can't go all overprotective lizard on me either. I'm not a damsel in distress, waiting to be saved by her knight. I'm a soldier, I know how to fight. But if I order you to do something I have to be sure that you will do it. "

"Yes, I understand Shepard, it won't be a problem again." He didn't know what a damsel was but he got what she meant.

"Can you work with me in command?"

"Yes, I'm sure I can!" There was a good, order abiding turian somewhere inside him doing a happy dance.

"That's... good to hear. Because I was thinking of recruiting you for - ah, I can't talk about that, not yet. And I can make no promises but if this thing works out the way I want to... " She fidgeted with her hands. "I know It's not a good idea to recruit someone for a team who you also have a personal... something - whatever we have..." She looked lost and started wringing her hands.

Garrus took her hands to keep them from doing that and stopped her. She looked up to him and he had never seen so much insecurity in her expression. "We will work it out, Shepard. Don't worry, we can make this work."

A relieved smile grew on her face and she sighed, "That's good. While we work, we keep things professional and everything else... we just take it day by day? Is that ok?"

He squeezed her hands once. "Yes, that is very much ok."

He reluctantly let go of her hands and they started walking again. Shepard seemed to be deep in thought. A C-Sec officer, a turian Garrus knew from seeing him at the academy a couple of times, approached them to ask how they had come about this case. Shepard gave a short explanation, referring any further questions to her superiors at ANIS and then excused herself. She told the C-Sec officer that Garrus would be able to answer all questions and walked over to the car where Wrex sat with the children while a turian doctor was checking on them.

Garrus watched her kneel down in a crouch so that she didn't tower over the children. She spoke to everyone of them, calming them, holding their hands. It was so very different from the ferocious warrioress he had seen before. Wrex still had the little human boy sitting on his lap, apparently the boy didn't want to let him go. The massive krogan didn't look bothered by that and held the boy gently upright as the doctor was treating his leg.

_Spirits, it's another gentle krogan. Maybe it's time to get over some stereotypes._

Garrus suddenly felt very tired. That concert had been yesterday. He couldn't believe that just this morning he had seen Nihlus become a Spectre, it felt like that was days ago.

He answered a few more questions from the C-Sec officer whose name he had already forgotten and promised him an extensive report if he could just go now. The officer finally let him go and Garrus made his way over to Shepard. From a car he saw the young recruits Berdin Lerv and Katrina Peters emerge, looking at him in surprise. He waved at them and they appeared like they were about to bombard him with questions. But after looking at him they apparently decided that it could wait. He must have looked more tired than he thought.

Shepard saw him approach and smiled brilliantly at him.

_That smile is going to be the death of me._

She turned back to Wrex and Garrus heard her talking to him sternly. "What the fuck are you doing, Wrex? We talked about this, you had all these plans, ambitions. And now I find you here, back at being a fucking merc, why?"

The red krogan actually looked embarrassed. "Come on, Shepard, a guy's got to make a living somehow."

"And you couldn't find anything better than this?" Under all her anger it was clear that she really cared.

Wrex snorted in annoyance, "There isn't a lot of work for a krogan that doesn't involve using a shotgun most of the time."

"I guess that's true." Shepard said and her anger disappeared. "Tell you what, Wrex. When I get the chance to put a team of my own together, and that might not be too far away, I'm getting you. Will you work for me?"

"Of course Shepard." The red krogan held out his huge hand and Shepard's disappeared inside of it. There was an amount of respect at work here that Garrus couldn't quite fathom.

Katrina Peters had watched the exchange from the side and her face was full of awe. As Shepard got up she waved the young woman over and instructed her to take care of the children for her. Peters was nodding so hard, her hair fell into her face. Wrex talked to the boy on his lap, his voice a quiet rumble and after a little while the boy nodded and let Peters take him.  
Wrex nodded to Shepard and the boy and then raised his hand with a wave towards Garrus. That took Garrus by surprise and he barely managed to raise his own hand for a wave before the krogan had turned around and lumbered down the road.

Shepard came over to him, looking at him critically. "You look dead on your feet. I'm taking you home."

Garrus nodded. "It has been a long day." His whole body ached.

They took the stairs up the building where the skycar was still waiting. As they got in, Shepard looked at him and then seemed to have come to a decision.

"This team that I want to put together, well, I haven't gotten the go-ahead yet, but it's looking good. It will be an investigative group of specialists, under ANIS for now. But it will be an interspecies collaboration, not a human project. The idea is... that's a bit of a long story, want to hear it?"

Garrus stretched and spread his mandibles in a yawn. "I'd like to hear it but I can't promise I'll remember everything you tell me because I'm just so _fugari_ tired!" He also really loved listening to her voice.

Shepard grinned, "I'll tell you everything again tomorrow if you want. After that I might be hard to reach for a few weeks."

Garrus wanted to ask what she meant but she continued talking.

"Here's the thing: The Alliance isn't exactly happy with the Spectres as the 'police-branch' of the Council."

"Why is that?"

"Because they are not regulated. They act as prosecutor, judge and executioner at the same time. A single person having so much power at their hands? That's a bad situation, just waiting to be exploited by the next power-hungry asshole with a god-complex. Humans have a lot of experience with those."

"There is a code the Spectres are supposed to follow." Garrus had heard about that one in school.

"It's not even written down!" Shepard shook her head. "If you had the volus on the council they would at least have made sure that this 'code' had some legal bearing. So far there is nothing stopping a guy like Saren Arterius from killing every human he see's."

Garrus nodded, he had thought something like that before himself. He had wondered if the famous efficiency of the best Spectre was really such a good thing. "So what does the Alliance want to do about it?"

She had a thoughtful smile. "It's a delicate subject. They can't just kick in the door and tell the Council that they should replace the Spectres. We have a bad enough reputation as it is as the power-hungry newcomers." She sniggered. "The idea is to start with these interspecies investigative groups and then sell the council on their success. Change the Spectres to a galaxy wide police-force and criminal investigators, bound by laws for all citizens of the Citadel races."

Garrus stared at her. "That's ambitious. The Council will hate the idea, they hate changing the status quo."

She laughed out once, "Oh, the Alliance knows, we know. That's why we start this small, so far we have one team already working, mostly turians and a fragile cooperation of the Alliance and the turian Hierarchy we can build upon."

He trilled questioningly, "A cooperation between humans and turians?"

She smiled in triumph, "Yes, it's happening! I can't tell you anything about it but there is something big going on. You're gonna love it, I promise!" She smiled her brilliant smile again, her eyes crinkling and her white teeth showing and Garrus felt his insides clench. He loved her smile so much.

Shepard stopped the skycar and Garrus noticed with bewilderment that they had already arrived at his apartment complex. Obviously Shepard was quite capable of driving a car without suicidal tendencies when there was no emergency. As they got out of the car, Shepard typed a message on her omni-tool. "I'm telling the armor salesman that we will clean the armor and return it in a few hours along with your endorsement."

"Spirits, I had completely forgotten about that." He dragged himself out of the elevator and as soon as he had opened his apartment door he started to undo the latches of the armor. Shepard skidded around him and caught the pieces before they could crash on the floor, giggling like a little girl. He removed every piece of clothing, not caring that Shepard saw his naked butt and fell face first on his bed.

Groaning, he rolled on his side and felt a blanket being pulled over him. Shepard smiled at him and kissed him on top of his fringe. She was about to get up but Garrus stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Will you be here when I wake up? Right here?"

She smiled warmly and stroked his mandible. "Alright, I'll be here. Sleep well, big guy." She kissed the side of his face and then kept stroking his head. He fell asleep with her scent in his nose and her hand on his fringe.

* * *

When he woke up he couldn't see her at first. Then he felt the bed slightly dipping behind him and he turned around. Shepard was sitting on his bed, her back against the headboard. She had a gauntlet on her lap and a cleaning rag in her hand. Her head had fallen back against the headboard and she was fast asleep.

Garrus rolled himself on the other side, facing her and resting his head on his upright forearm. He wanted to look at her. She looked so peaceful. The hardened warrior had fallen away and all he saw was a woman, soft, warm, maybe even vulnerable. And he saw beauty. Despite his upbringing instilling a sense of beauty in him that involved fringes, spurs and sharp angled hip bones, he found her beautiful.

Not just attractive like an asari fringe was attractive or a human clavicle or the back of a salarian. He found her beautiful as a whole. And he admired her, the way she fought, how she assessed the battlefield and how she handled a gun. How she respected others and demanded respect towards herself. He loved her enthusiasm and her willingness to work with everyone, regardless of species and stereotypes.

He loved everything about her.

Shepard stirred as if she felt his intense stare. Suddenly her body tensed, her hand moved to her hip feeling for a gun and her eyes snapped open, quickly assessing the room. Garrus grinned, this was a soldier waking up. He made a low hum and her eyes snapped to him. He hummed again, "It's okay, you're safe. You are in my bedroom." Awareness crawled on her face. He chuckled, "You're never going to finish cleaning that armor like that!"

There it was again, that smile! A feeling he couldn't describe wanted to break free from his cowl and his subvocals were singing.

She put the piece of armor down on the floor and looked at him for a second, a predatory gleam in her eyes.

With a fluid motion her body slid next to his. Her lips were on his mouth, her tongue entwining with his, her chest pressed against him, her leg over his waist. Her softness so firm against him pulled him into a haze of desire. He pressed her even closer to him, his hands on her back, her waist, her ass. Her fingers under his fringe, on his throat, her foot stroking his legspur, every touch like fire on his oversensitive skin. It was getting hard to pull in enough air.

His genital plates shifted, his penis more than ready in seconds and the smell of her arousal was like a drug in the air. She rubbed the apex between her legs against his erection and her moaning aroused him even more. He wanted her now, right now! She kissed his mandible, then she took it in her mouth and sucked on it, her tongue twirling around it in between breaths. Garrus wanted to explode in pleasure and groaned. Her clothes needed to go.

Before he could even get under the hem of her shirt to pull it over her head, his omni-tool chimed loudly, indicating an urgent call. Garrus roared in anger. "Spirits be damned!" He knew it was a call from his family, only they had this urgency code. Shepard sighed and looked at him slightly annoyed, "Do you have to answer?"

Garrus nuzzled the top of her head and noticed for the first time how soft her hair was. "I'm sorry Shepard, really. But this is an emergency call from my family, I have to take it. Something could have happened."

Shepard sighed and rolled away from him, making him miss her immediately. "Well, then I better hide again, as I recall your dad is not supposed to see me, right?" There was hurt in her eyes, hidden under a friendly smile. He took her hand and stopped her from getting up. "No, you don't have to hide. I'm done with... hiding." Her brilliant smile warmed his gizzard again.

He thumbed his omni-tool and was greeted with the enraged face of his father. He started yelling and swearing in old Palaveni as soon as he could see Garrus's face. Suddenly he stopped and it looked like his eyes wanted to pop out of his head. He had seen Shepard and was visibly struggling for words. Then he hissed at Garrus, "Is that it? Is that the reason for your behaviour?" His eyes went back to her, full of hate. "Send it away." he growled.

Garrus was taken aback, his father was normally more restrained than that. "Father, please, what is the matter?"

"Send it away!" Aethius Vakarian growled full of aggression, his subharmonics sounding out pure hate.

Garrus didn't know what to do, he had never seen so much hate in his father. Shepard clearly sensed his distress and touched his arm, her fingers stroking him lightly. She whispered, "I'm just going to get some coffee." She dipped her head towards the face of his father on the screen who looked away, not acknowledging her.

When she had left, the older Vakarian turned back to the camera and fixed Garrus with a hard stare. "I got a call from Lartius Fedorian. Sapita has informed him that she is refusing the _conveniere_. Not only that, she has broken - broken! - with her family to live with an asari! What did you tell her, Garrus? Did you pitch your deviant ways to her? Introduce her to your pets for your sick games?"

"Father, shut up!" Garrus yelled and immediately froze. He had never spoken to his father like that before. Aethius stared at him, shaking in rage. Garrus decided to keep talking as long as his father wasn't saying anything. "I'm done with this. Don't arrange anymore _conveniere_ for me, I won't go. I will find a mate on my own."

"You can not refuse the traditions." His father's subvocals were broadcasting his authority. "We have found excellent candidates for you and we will find another one. You have a duty to your family to fulfill. _Affectus_ will grow in time."

"Really? That's what I have to expect?"

His father growled in annoyance. "That is the turian way. Your mother and I have found _affectus_ over time and so will you. We are not asari, we don't leave these things to chance."

"Spirits, father, maybe I have another idea about my life, maybe I want to..."

Aethius interrupted him with a subvocal scream. "Have you been watching 'Fleet and Flotilla'? Do you think this is how you will find a mate? Maybe a willing alien for..."

"No father, I haven't watched that vid -"

"Then I forbid you to ever watch it! It gives the young stupid ideas -" Aethius voices were tripping over.

"Really father? I'm over 20 years old and you want to forbid me to watch a vid?"

"You are my son and I make it my _decretum_ that you -"

Garrus stopped him before this could go any further, yelling, "Enough! This is the wrong time, the wrong everything."

"You are denying my _decretum_?"

Was this the moment? The moment where he had to decide whether he wanted to give up on his family or not? Still half asleep, unfulfilled sexual desire burning inside of him?

"Father, please, can we talk about this later? Please, I just woke up." He laid as much submissiveness in his subvocals as he could, to calm his father down.

"Fine." Aethius ended the call and Garrus slumped back against the headboard, letting his frustration sing out in a loud keen.

He heard the door and panicked. Had Shepard left? He got up to run after her but in that moment she stepped into the room, carrying two big cups in her hands. He let himself fall back onto the bed, relieved.

"Hey, big guy. I got you _cava_, I hope you like that." Her voice was soft and soothing and he felt himself relax. "I assumed that coffee is probably not a drink for turians, it is an acquired taste, even for humans." She sat down on the bed right next to him. "The turian in the bakery said that most turians drink _cava_ in the morning." The turian word sounded strange but she pronounced it correctly.

He took the cup from her and drank from it. It was good, a little sweet but not too much. He sighed and the tension fell from his shoulders. "It's perfect, thank you Shepard."

She scooted up to him and leaned her side against his chest. For a while they just sat like that, huddled closely together, drinking from their cups. He nuzzled her hair, it smelled of some foreign fruit. He put his arm around her, holding her close. It felt so right, sitting here with her.

After a while she spoke.  
"Your father doesn't like humans, I guess."

"No he doesn't. I'm sorry, he - I've never seen him behave like that before."

"Does he have a specific reason for that?" She tried to sound neutral but he could hear the hurt in her voice.

He pulled her closer. "For hating humans? No, I don't think he does. But he was very angry that the meeting with Sapita didn't go as planned."

She turned to look at his face. "So you really were supposed to marry her?"

He sighed again. "Yes, I guess that was the plan. My clan is very traditional and a bond with Sapita would have been beneficial for the clan."

She leaned over to put her cup on the table nearest his bed, next to his own cup and then settled back into the crook of his arm, her face leaning against his cowl. Her hand was gently stroking the skin and plates on his chest. "I'm sorry for making your life complicated." She said with a quiet voice.

"Don't be. This has been a long time coming. It wasn't the first time that I refused a bond offer like that. I guess I always thought I could just wait out the problem but now - I see that I have to actually make a decision."

Shepard sighed and took her hand away from his chest. She spoke, not looking at him. "You know, I had only intended to recruit you for my team, Nihlus had recommended you."

"He had?" Garrus asked in surprise, hoping that her hand would return to him.

"Yes, I spoke to him that I needed someone who could fight and investigate and he gave me your files. I looked them over, the files he made and the ones from your military service. You know, I have no idea how they could ever let someone like you go. It's no wonder that turian mercenaries are such a pain in the ass if the turian military keeps on dumping fine officer material like that."

Garrus felt pride rise up in him. He had gotten in so much trouble all the time for questioning orders and defying traditions, it was wonderful to hear something positive about that.

"As I was saying," she continued, "I definitely had not planned to... like you so much." She grinned up to him and finally her hand returned to his chest. "I don't usually kiss new recruits. And this whole business with your family is really new territory for me. I don't want you to... suffer because of me." Her hand was lightly stroking the inside of his cowl where the skin was softer and more sensitive. A rumble of pleasure left his chest.

Shepard giggled quietly. "Everybody keeps saying how turians are so tough and armored but in truth you are sensitive all over!" She moved her face closer to his cowl. Suddenly her tongue appeared and she licked along the inside of his cowl. Garrus shuddered and closed his eyes at the intensity of this sensation. She giggled again.

He tried to speak but his voice was not quite cooperating. "I'm not suffering. At least not because of you and my family. But if you keep touching me like that I might suffer from a heart attack soon." He heard and felt her laugh into his cowl.

Suddenly her body moved away from his and she sat up, kneeling on her legs, facing him. "What I'm trying to say here," she said with her voice strong and deep, "is that I don't want to complicate things. The Alliance has strict rules against fraternizations among crew but I don't really give a shit about that. I also don't really care what your family thinks about me, that is something you have to deal with, not me. What we may have to deal with are people disagreeing with turian and a human being... together and all. That is a problem we can't solve, so it's probably a good idea if we are not too open about it in public."

"So, no more kissing and humming on benches on the Presidium?" Garrus had to rumble at that. "Such a shame, I was beginning to see those benches in a new light."

She laughed and punched him lightly on his arm. "Yeah, that was probably not one of my best moves back there. We made quite the show."

Garrus moved one hand to the side of her head and carefully let her hair move through his talons. "I liked it. A lot."

Shepard leaned into the touch of his hand. "Yeah, me too."

Then she straightened again and looked at him seriously. "What I do want to make clear is that I want to work with you. I think I can teach you things and you can teach me things. But we have to separate that from the emotional... relationship we have." She looked at him seriously. "If you think you can't do that than you should probably go with Nihlus."

"Nihlus? Why would I go with him?"

"Oh, he said to me if I don't take you, he will snatch you away." Her tone suggested that this should have been obvious.

He took her hands in his and pulled her towards him until her forehead was against his. His scent released from the glands again, he just couldn't stop it. Sighing he said, "I already told you, I'm sure we can get this to work. I want to be by your side, I don't want to leave you."

He felt her smile as much as he saw it. "I'm glad to hear that but it may get a bit difficult to stay by my side in the next few weeks."

He pulled his head away to look at her. "Why is that? You have another mission for ANIS?"

"No, I'll be leaving in a few hours to an unknown location for the last part of my N7 exam. We'll have our survival run and tests, that will probably take about three weeks. Afterwards all of us are going to spend our shore leave on Elysium, at least three days either celebrating passing the N7 tests or drowning our sorrows about failing them. Still, even failing N7 is an accomplishment so we will celebrate either way. After that..." She looked down on her thumbs stroking the skin between his fingers. "I'll contact you as soon as I can."

"Do you have to go right now?" Garrus asked in panic.

"No, I still have a few hours." She let go of his hands and pushed him back against the headboard. She pressed her chest on his stomach and her one hand was stroking his waist while the other went all over his upper body stroking, feeling, testing. With her tongue she licked along his cowl ridge again.

He groaned and wrapped his arms around her. Every touch from her, that agile and surprisingly strong tongue, her breath on his skin, it all made him burn inside. He carefully raked his talons across her back, they were blunted but still sharp, and he felt her shudder with a moan. He hummed in pleasure, earning him another shudder from her as she moved further up. Finally her lips were on his mouth again, her tongue touching his.

_Praise the Spirits, I love her kisses._

They kissed until they ran out of air, gasping each others breath in urgency. Then she suckled on his mouthplates again and he tried to wrap his tongue around hers and he felt like he was falling into a dream.

Suddenly she jumped off him and he wanted to keen in disappointment but then he saw that she undressed herself with lightning speed. Naked she stood before him with an unsure look on her face and he stared at her in wonder. So much soft skin, hair between her legs, muscles and sinew visible under her skin, scars and little brown spots drawing a map of some unknown universe on her body.

He reached out to her. "Come here, beautiful." Relief appeared on her face and he realized that she had been unsure whether he even found her attractive. He remembered that he had worried about the same thing. But the way she had looked at him and kissed him had chased those worries away.

He hoped she realized from his touch and his hum how much he desired her because he couldn't possibly put it into words right now. She slid over him in one fluid movement and set her knees next to his waist. Her open folds, dripping wet, rubbed against his erection, making him push against her in need. She smiled, bucking her hips and slid up and down, his penis sliding along her vagina, her labia's lips enclosing him from the sides. They both moaned, sounding like wild animals in heat and he couldn't lie still anymore.

He pushed her up and laid her on her back. He was still afraid to use his talons but he knew he could lick her. His tongue traveled over her body, licking her clavicle that he especially loved and her mounds with the little nubs on top. They turned hard and erect after a few licks which he found fascinating. He licked them again and again and he loved how it made her squirm. Slowly he moved further down with his hands, licking her mounds and ghosting over the skin of her waist with his talons. Garrus felt drunk smelling her arousal and he buried his nose in the curve of her shoulder, breathing in her wonderful scent. He began stroking her thigh and her labia lips, dipping his finger in and out of her. She was panting, trembling with each touch and her fingernails were digging into his fringe. He had avoided the magic nub, the clitoris as he had learned it was called, and when he finally gave it a tentative flick her moan turned into a scream. Just a few soft circles later her whole body tensed and with a choked "Yesss!" she arched her back and screamed her release.

A clear fluid dripped from her vagina and Garrus dipped his finger into it, looking at it curiously. She was still trembling in pleasure but suddenly he felt himself pushed back against the headboard by her hands. Unsated lust was in her eyes and she moved over him. They had to scramble a bit to find a position that was comfortable for both of them, giggling while spurs and hip bones were getting in the way. Finally she had his waist between her thighs and one squeeze had his eyes roll back in pleasure. She giggled at his reaction. "Your waist, huh?" She squeezed again and his moan was probably heard by every sentient being in the building.

Shepard angled her vagina over his penis and in one slow movement lowered herself down on him, a relieved breath coming from her throat as if she almost couldn't have waited for it any longer. She took him in, moving slowly. He had to hold his breath to not come right then and there, ending this encounter way too soon. She raised herself up and lowered herself again and again, taking him deeper each time. She felt so tight, enclosing him like a glove. Finally she had him in her completely, her pubic hair tickling his genital plates. He groaned and bucked his hips against her, unable to control the need burning in him. She gasped and her head fell forward, her fingers digging into his shoulders.

Their movements became frantic, rutting against each other. She moaned and he felt her mouth on his throat, her teeth pressing into his skin. _Would she bite? Do humans bite?_ He felt like he lost all grasp of reality, all his senses tuned to her, all of his self feeling with her, for her, in need to be with her. He closed his eyes, overwhelmed from the sensations.

Her mouth left his throat and he heard her whisper between gasps. "Open... your eyes... Garrus! Look... look!" He snapped his eyes open, unsure why. He looked in her eyes and he saw it - he saw the intense feelings passing between them, the love neither of them would ever voice aloud. He felt himself sing in his chest.

Her movements became uncoordinated as she came closer to her climax again and little whimpering sounds left her. Garrus urgently tipped her over on her back almost poking her with his spurs in the process. She smiled about that. He felt her heels digging into his back as he thrusted into her faster. He knew she was close to her release but when it came he was still unprepared for the vice-like grip her vagina put on his penis, pressing and milking him. She screamed his name when her orgasm peaked and he climaxed with a roar, his thrusts getting harder and faster, his talons digging into her hips. He spilled his seed in several spurts, his whole body shuddering each time.

He fell to the side and she moved with him, keeping him inside of her. She draped herself over him, somehow making her soft body fit to his hard one. A content sigh from her had her breath ghost over his throat and he shuddered again. He put his arms tighter around her, holding her as close as possible without hurting her. He let his subharmonics sing freely of the love he felt for her.

_Love! _  
_I love you!_

Her arms pulled herself closer to him, her face pressed against his throat. He nuzzled her head and held her tight.

They stayed like that until their breathing had normalized again. His penis slipped back behind his plates and his seed was dripping out of her. He felt it running down on his thigh. She lifted herself up, her wet hair stuck to the skin of her face and looked at the dripping fluid with amusement.

"I think I need to get into the shower." She said, already bouncing up. Garrus could hardly lift his head let alone the rest of his body. He indicated with his hand towards the general direction of the bathroom and said, "Feel free to use whatever you need. I don't think I can get up yet."

She laughed and mumbled "Men" to herself and disappeared through the door. Garrus heard the water running and decided that she was definitely capable of taking care of herself in there on her own. He rolled to his side and fell asleep again.

* * *

As soon as they had entered C-Sec academy, Garrus was practically attacked by Peters who informed them that the children were fine, that most of the mercs were already interrogated and that the Executor had been in talks with ANIS all morning and Garrus should make his way into his office quickly. "I can not repeat his exact words because my translator gave up on it but I'm sure it was something about your ass showing up on his desk with a bow." Shepard snickered at that and Garrus sighed.

She had woken him up, smelling of his soap fresh from the shower and he had wanted to take her again right away. But she convinced him that they both needed to show up at C-Sec, to give a report about the events at the warehouse.

With a nod to Shepard he turned and made his way over to Pallin's office. Bracing himself for the barrage of questions and accusations, he was surprised to find Pallin in a good mood. Apparently he liked working with ANIS and Garrus wondered who had managed to convince him. His boss wanted to hear a full recap of the events and Garrus tried to give him the most complete short version he could. He wanted to get back to Shepard, he didn't want to waste the precious little time they had left sitting in his boss's office. When he finally got out, he found her among the young recruits, telling stories, answering questions and giving advice. The young men and women of all species soaked up everything she told them like it was words from a god.

He stepped up to her, close but not too close, not touching her. Behind him he heard a commotion and somebody asked if it was 'Bring-your-girlfriend-or-boyfriend-to-work-day'. He froze, how could they tell? He hadn't even touched Shepard let alone shown any affection towards her. Her smelling of turian soap was maybe a bit weird but that didn't necessarily mean that they were together...

When he turned around he realized that it wasn't him and Shepard that the remark had been for, but Frank and Sarah. Behind them Batius and Tinlenus were standing close to each other, Tinlenus supporting Batius who leaned heavily on two crutches. He nodded towards his colleagues and everyone started to applaud. Batius stretched his throat and trilled in embarrassment. Tinlenus put his hand on his mate's shoulder and then hissed loudly to quiet everyone down.

Batius spoke with a soft voice. "I would like to thank everyone who has visited me while I was in the hospital." He turned and looked at Frank. "I especially want to thank Frank Johnson who, as the doctors told me, made sure that I was handled correctly after that bomb went off." He nodded towards Frank and the human dipped his head in return. Garrus was surprised, before today Batius had hardly acknowledged that Frank was even a member of C-Sec.

Garrus also noticed another change. Batius's markings looked different. They still indicated the colony he came from but the family lines had fainted as if he hadn't reapplied the paint in a while. Tinlenus and Batius were quite open with their affections for each other now, but Garrus was fairly certain that they had never been this obvious before. Almost dying had a way of setting priorities straight.

Shepard was suddenly standing next to him and looked up to him. "What are you thinking?"

Garrus smiled, she was really attentive. "His markings have changed. His family lines are fading."

"What does that mean?"

"If I had to guess I would say that his family didn't approve of his choice of mate and broke with him."

She looked confused. "So his family has banished him because they don't like his mate?" Garrus nodded. She scrunched up her face. "They are both male, right? Is there a stigma in turian society against having a mate of the same gender?"

Garrus shook his head. "No, it's all about the tiers in the turian Hierarchy. Tinlenus's markings show that he is from Invictus, which has been a troubled colony in turian history and the families from there have a low standing in the Hierarchy. Batius's family probably had a different mate of a higher tier chosen for him."

Shepard nodded. "Ah, that _convenire_ thing."

Garrus stretched his throat, unpleasantly remembering the unfinished discussion with his father.

"Why was Batius in the hospital?" Shepard's voice pulled him back.

They made their way to his office and he told her of the raid in the warehouse and the cloaked bombs. She mostly listened, only asking a few questions in between. When they were inside his office, away from curious eyes, she took his hand in hers. Looking down on her fingers stroking his, she said quietly "You're lucky to be alive. You - all of you could have died."

He pulled her closer and nuzzled her hair. "But we didn't. I'll be more careful from now on, do more scanning for cloaking devices."

Noises in the hall outside his door made them step apart again. She looked around and grinned. "This looks familiar. My workplace has the same kind of organized chaos."

"This isn't chaos. This is inventive prioritising!" He picked up a datapad from the floor and stacked it on top of a rickety tower of other pads. Behind him he heard her laughing and it made a tingle run down his spine.

Frank and Sarah came into his office, holding hands. For a moment he envied how open they could be with their relationship. He introduced Shepard and she and Sarah immediately started a conversation about Sarah's work and the science involved. When they opened their omni-tools to compare schematics, Frank stepped over to Garrus, rolling his eyes.  
"I think our women are too smart for us." he said.

Garrus nodded and then froze. "How do you... ? I mean, why would you think, me and Shepard...?"

"Oh, come on, birdy. I know you." Frank laughed at him. "You may act all cool and professional but I can see that you are totally smitten with each other. And I think it's awesome."

Garrus stretched his throat with a quiet hum. "Thanks man, I... this is all so new to me."

Frank sighed, "I know exactly how you feel. You go around looking at all the pretty girls and suddenly - bam! - there is only one and she has your heart in her hands."

"Spirits, yes she does." Garrus knew that humans considered the heart to be the organ where love was felt. By the way his heart was trying to jump out of his cowl whenever he looked at her, he was inclined to agree. Turians felt love in their gizzard, or as his father had always said, a turian in love was just an idiot who ate something wrong.

Garrus turned back to Frank and began sending files to his omni-tool. "I made a check on a turian liver that we found in that storage yesterday and then went with Peters and Lerv to the family to talk about his death. Guess what, we talked to him!"

Frank looked at him in disbelief. "What the fuck are you talking about? If his liver is in storage he is dead, did you find a medium or something?"

"No, he is still alive, I don't understand it either. That was one of the more embarrassing moments in my career, talking to a widow who isn't. Thankfully Peters got her senses back together fast and saved the situation." He shook his head and closed his omni-tool. "I've sent you everything I have, see if you can make sense of it. Oh, and he works at Everest Artifics, maybe Sarah knows something about him."

Frank looked dismayed. "Seriously, Garrus, something is wrong with that place. I wish Sarah wouldn't work there."

"If you think it isn't safe there anymore we'll get her out, I promise." Garrus said, putting a hand on Frank's shoulder.

"Thanks man, I'm going to hold you to that. Now go and get your woman away from my woman or else they'll be talking about shit we don't understand for the rest of the day." Frank said, pulling him over to the women.

Sarah and Shepard heard that remark and laughed. They exchanged contacts with a promise of keeping up on some technical project that Garrus had never heard about. They walked out of Garrus's office and Sarah gave Frank a small kiss on the side of his face. Shepard and Garrus exchanged a look of sorrow, this was something they would probably never do in public again.

They navigated out of C-Sec, Frank and Garrus exchanging greetings and short conversations with colleagues along the way. Shepard was quiet, deep in thought. She occasionally glanced at her omni-tool, frowning. Garrus wondered how much time they had left before she had to leave for her N7 test.

They disbanded on the Presidium, Sarah and Frank on their way to lunch, Garrus and Shepard taking a slow walk along the stores. Garrus stopped at an arms dealer, eyeing a few mods and scopes that would look great on his favourite rifle. Shepard excused herself for a few minutes and disappeared into a few stores. She came back with a little bag she wouldn't let him look into.

They ended up at a transport hub and just stopped, unsure of what to do. Garrus finally asked, "So, when do you have to leave? Should we go to the docks?"

She sighed, "No, I'm going to get a message and then I'm to give out my coordinates and they will pick me up from there and, I don't know, blindfold me maybe? It's all very secretive, unknown transport, unknown location, no contact to the outside world. That message should arrive in the next half hour, an hour max."

"So, where do you want to go to?" Garrus asked, looking at her from the side. He stood close to her, maybe a bit closer than a turian would normally stand next to a human. Not close enough though, he wanted to go somewhere where he could touch her. "How about if we just go back to my place? Would the Alliance mind if they had to pick you up from there?"

She snorted. "Fuckem. Where and how I spend my time is none of their business. If they have to pick me up in front of some apartment building they better not complain. Let's go."

A short trip with a skycar and they were back at his apartment. Garrus noticed her scent still hanging in the air as soon as he had opened the door and he loved it. Shepard flopped down on the couch and took two bottles of beer, one levo and one dextro, from the bag. Garrus trilled questioningly at that, was drinking before a mission such a good idea?

She grinned at him, "I know, I know, drinking before a mission, yada yada, bad bad. It's not like I'm drunk after one beer, and I won't get a beer for the next three weeks, probably. I hope you like the one I got for you." She handed him a bottle of turian beer from Palaven, the good kind. He trilled in appreciation and she smiled at that. He sat down next to her and they clinked their bottles together in a toast. Only after his first sip he realized that she had reacted to his subvocal trills. He turned to her, "How much do you understand of my subharmonics?"

She grinned, showing all her teeth. "A little. Working with Nihlus and the turian troops we trained together taught me some basics like annoyance, disagreement, questioning - man, the questioning." She rolled her eyes. "My hearing is pretty good, I can hear a lot of the turian range but when it get's too low I feel it rather than hear it." She took a gulp of her beer, enjoying the taste with a sigh. "I had a turian in my group once who behaved like a total ass, insubordinate, couldn't deal with my command at all. At one point he flat out refused to do something and I did this," she turned to him, stretched her neck and then made a sound that didn't sound quite turian but had a very convincing trill of 'behave yourself, child' in it.

Garrus felt himself cower his head instinctually and trilled approvingly.  
"That was good, very convincing."

"Yeah, Nihlus had practised that with me and when I used it on this guy his eyes almost popped out of his head. It really worked, he did what he was told after that. Maybe you can teach me some more." She put her hand on his chest as she took their beers and set them on the table. "I would like to learn some nicer ones... affectionate ones."

Garrus pulled her close and she climbed over him to straddle his lap. He was expecting her to kiss him but she bent down and picked up the bag from the floor. She handed him the bag with a smile, "I got you something." He hummed in surprise.

The present turned out to be a scope for his favourite rifle with a red flower tied to it with a yellow bow. He stared at it, how did she know that he needed a new scope? He turned it over, it was perfect, exactly the kind he would have gotten himself.

"Thank you, Shepard," he whispered. Carefully he opened the bow and took the flower in his hand.

She smiled at him even more. "Careful, it has thorns. But maybe your skin is thick enough that it won't hurt you."

He touched one of the thorns with a tip of his finger, it pricked a little but didn't pierce his skin. Shepard looked at his finger interested, feeling the tip where the thorn had made a little dent that slowly disappeared again. "Couldn't they breed out the thorns?" he wondered.

"Oh they have, turns out without the thorns they don't smell anymore. Only the ones with thorns have that nice scent." She put her nose to the flower and breathed in. Garrus put his nose close to the flower as well and the pleasant scent of the flower mingled with hers. He breathed it in deeply, and quietly let his subharmonics hum out his feelings.

She looked at him and began to hum herself. He realized that she tried to copy his hum and after a little while came very close to the real thing. More flat than a turian hum but close enough. He felt his gizzard clench, wondering if she even realized what she hummed.

_Love_.

He put his hand behind her head, his talons playing with her hair and he pulled her forehead to his, holding the flower still between them. They both had their eyes closed and hummed.

_Don't ever forget this_.

The moment shattered as his omni-tool chimed with his familys urgency code. Garrus cursed loudly and Shepard sighed. "I was actually expecting my omni-tool to chime any minute now." She moved back onto the couch, checking her own omni-tool for messages.

He looked at his omni-tool and cringed, it was his mother. He got up and trilled apologetic at Shepard. "It's a call from my mother, I have to take this, I... I'll be heading to my bedroom for it. Not to hide you, it's just..."

"It's okay, don't worry about it. But if I get my message I have to leave right away, I can't wait for you to finish your call." Shepard said, a serious look on her face. Garrus wondered if she was nervous and felt stupid to not have asked her about it.

"Just let me know it when you get it, I'll end the call and get back to her later." He ran into his bedroom and opened the call. His mothers face greeted him with his fathers face hovering over her shoulder. Garrus groaned, his father was not holding back, he knew how much he depended on his mother and that he could never refuse her.

"Hello mother, hello father. Now is not a good time, can I call you back later?"  
An angry screech came from his father and he saw his mother wince.

His father was obviously getting ready for an attack but his mother stopped him with a short trill. She turned back towards the screen. "Son, we have to talk. We can not postpone this further." She sighed, "Your meeting with Sapita Fedorian has turned into a disaster. The Fedorian family is accusing you of influencing her in breaking with her family. The clans are in conflict. This bond had been arranged by both of our clans and it was very..."

"Mother, I know that. I'm sorry that I didn't react according to plan but this bond - it never would have worked. Sapita was already bonded before. I had no influence in that, she decided herself to no longer repudiate her bondmate."

His father took a deep breath again but didn't say anything after a hiss from his mother. She hummed at Garrus and he knew the next question was going to be important. "Are you already bonded, Garrus?"

He stretched his throat. He hadn't told Shepard that he had scented her and he had not asked her to bond with him. But he knew that they felt strongly for each other and he couldn't lose her. "I am courting someone."

"An alien?" His mother asked with anxious undertones.

"She is human, yes."

His father roared in anger, screaming and cursing. "The pet? You are courting it?"

Garrus hissed "Don't call her that!"

His father was pacing behind his mother, moving in and out of the frame of the camera. "A human! Of all the species - humans! They are brash, deceiving, untrustworthy, asking for more than they deserve. You young people have forgotten the war, forgotten how..."

Garrus hissed in exasperation "Let it go, father. The galaxy is changing. I won't follow your path, I will find my own."

His fathers face returned to the camera, almost pushing his mothers face out of the frame. "You will not continue this. I forbid you! I make it my _decretum_ that you will not see this alien ever again."

Once again Garrus wondered if this was the moment. The moment where he had to decide whether he could be without clan from now on. If he denied the _decretum_, he would never see his family again. Not his mother, not his sister. He could be arrested for trespassing if he ever went back to his home on Palaven.

"What do you want me to say father?" Garrus paced, staring at his omni-tool. "Oh, I know. It's nothing serious, just a fling. Don't worry about her." He turned around, thinking that he saw movement in his peripheral vision but he was still alone in his room. "I can't say that, because it's not true. I can't let her go. Don't make me choose between her and my family."

His mother keened in panic and tried to calm his father down with a hum while fighting for control over her own emotions. But his father was past the point of control, his subvocals screaming, his mandibles slammed tight.

His face filled the screen and he hissed at Garrus. "Do you deny my _decretum_?"

Garrus took a deep breath. No point in avoiding the unavoidable. "Yes, father, I'm denying."

He heard his mother keen loudly and then his father ended the call. Garrus felt like someone had vented the air from the room. He had to see Shepard, he needed to talk to her. He went back into the living room but he couldn't see her anywhere.

"Shepard?" he called out.

She wasn't there. Had she left? Maybe her N7-message had arrived. Why hadn't she called for him?

His eyes fell on a little object on the floor and he bent down to pick it up. It was the red flower and it looked like someone had stepped on it.

()()()

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**I hope everyone of you nice readers will have a few wonderful days, finding peace and happiness this Christmas. ****I probably won't find a lot of time to write, so the next chapter might take a while to surface. But at least this one was quite long to make up for that.**

**Big thanks to everyone who reviewed, makes me all warm and fuzzy everytime I see a new one.**

**And again thanks go to Credete for editing this chapter real fast, so that I could put it up quickly.**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Hello dear readers, welcome to the new year! Let's see how our story continues.**_

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Garrus fell down on his couch. He had the feeling that something significant had happened but he hadn't been told what. He sat in a daze, his thoughts twisting around itself. His family, Shepard, the flower, that moment where they had hummed their love. After brooding for what seemed like hours, he flipped his omni-tool on and sent Shepard a message.

'Where are you? Why didn't you say goodbye? -Garrus.'

A second later he received an automated reply.

'Participant has temporarily been removed from the message system. Addressee did not receive this message.'

Garrus snarled in frustration.

He got startled by his omni-tool chiming, announcing an incoming call. He acknowledged and the semi-translucent display opened to Nihlus's face, looking at him angrily.

"You pyjack-eating-fucking-crestless-boshtet-bareface!" Nihlus cursed loudly at him as soon as the connection was established. "What by the damned Spirits have you done?"

Garrus just knew that Nihlus was talking about Shepard and he sighed. "Nihlus, please tell me because I swear by all ancestors, I don't know."

"You little pyjack... I just saw Shepard as she arrived for her transport and ancestors damn you if she didn't look like her Spirit had been killed. All she told me was that you said it was just a fling, not serious and I can't believe I even encouraged..."

"Spirits, no! This is all wrong!" Garrus finally understood what had scared her away and his insides clenched at the realization. He was losing her because of some stupid misunderstanding. "Nihlus, I told my father that I knew that that was what he wanted to hear, but that I could never say it because it's not true."

Nihlus spat out another impressive array of curses from all species and from the tilting and shaking picture it was clear that he had begun to run. The camera turned itself off after a few seconds but the audio connection stayed on. Garrus heard Nihlus muttering to himself and at people he passed while running.

He was slightly out of breath but kept talking to Garrus. "So, I bet your father was really happy about that, huh?" Nihlus asked.

Garrus sighed, "He made it his _decretum_ that I never see her again."

He heard Nihlus breathing, his feet stomping on metal ground. "And what did you say?"

"I denied."

"Spirits."

Garrus felt the revelation sink in as he said it. He groaned, "Wouldn't it be just the greatest irony of my Spirits-forsaken life if I not only lost my family today, but Shepard as well."

Nihlus was talking to a human who apparently didn't want to let him through. "I am Spectre Nihlus Kryik. I have information for Lieutenant Shepard that she needs to see immediately."

"I'm sorry Sir, but Lieutenant Shepard is already under communications ban. You can queue up the message for her, and she will receive it when the ban is lifted after the N7 exam."

Nihlus was growling with authority but the human was unimpressed. Garrus could see in his mind's eye how he raised himself up to tower over the human. But the human didn't budge. "Sir, I can not let you through, no one is allowed to contact the examinees." This human sure had a quad to stand up to an enraged turian like that.

"Lieutenant... Martens, you are interfering in an ongoing ANIS-Spectre investigation and I will hold you personally responsible for any unpleasant outcome of that. You are endangering innocents by withholding this from her! It is vital for this investigation that I get this to her."

Lieutenant Martens was impressively calm and fearless and didn't move from his stand. Nihlus growled with barely contained rage but a hint of respect. There was surely something about human stubbornness that a turian could respect. Nihlus changed his tone, humming friendly, almost seductively. "Lieutenant Martens, could you just give a note to Lieutenant Shepard? Please, this is really important."

The Lieutenant finally seemed to waver as he mumbled something quietly to himself. Then he seemed to have come to a decision because Garrus heard him sigh and then speak to Nihlus in a confidential whisper. "Okay, Spectre Kryik -" Nihlus interrupted with a low purr, "Call me Nihlus."

Garrus heard the Lieutenant gasp for a breath. His voice was a bit hoarse when he continued to speak. "Alright, Nihlus, put the information on this pad here and I will make sure that Lieutenant Shepard will get it."

Nihlus purred in a low register in a way that made Garrus's gizzard vibrate. He couldn't hear what Nihlus was doing but he assumed that had written something on a pad and handed it back to Lieutenant Martens. Nihlus's voice was humming low, "Please make sure that only Lieutenant Shepard receives this pad and that she reads it right away. If she has a message in return please send it to me, here is my contact." His growl turned downright sexual. "Thank you so much, Lieutenant Martens." The human answered with a whisper, "Please, call me Leo." Nihlus answered in an equal whisper, probably with his head right next to the human's ear, "Alright, Leo, thank you for your help. I owe you a drink, call me when you have delivered the message, alright?" Leo's answer was just a hitched breath.

Garrus was very impressed, Nihlus clearly was irresistible for everybody. He heard Nihlus walk and the camera turned back on as Nihlus as spoke to him again. "You had better be worth it, wet painted youngling," he growled, "Stay where you are, I'm coming over."

Nihlus arrived at Garrus's apartment together with Frank Johnson; they had brought beer, whiskey, and turian brandy. They stayed on Garrus's couch, listening to his story. Garrus was pacing, unable to sit still. Talking about it made him finally realize that he had broken with his family. He might not have talked to his family every day, but he spoke to either his mother or his sister at least every ten or twelve days. Now, none of that would happen again.

Frank rolled his eyes and shouted "Stop!" at him. "Garrus, seriously, you have to sit your ass down. You're driving me crazy." Garrus fell down on his armchair and keened quietly. Frank looked from him to Nihlus and back. "Guys, you need to explain this to me."

Nihlus looked at Garrus with pity and then turned to Frank. "Turians are not meant to be alone. We need a clan, we are conditioned to always be surrounded by friends or family. There is a reason why turians tend to join groups, such as the military, C-Sec, or if social standing doesn't permit that, mercenary groups are also an option. It is not healthy for us to be alone." He handed a new bottle of beer to Garrus. "Turians can get quite desperate without friends, and alone they will develop problems."

Frank took another sip and looked on in worry at Garrus. "What kind of problems?"

"Paranoia, insomnia, depression, self-hatred. Every psychological _stercus_ that can make a turian lose his or her mind." Nihlus looked over to Garrus. "And our friend is also in love. That's an emotion turians don't really deal with all that well. Didn't your father tell you that nothing is more pathetic than a turian in love?"

Garrus nodded at that. "He called it **"**_stupid asari love"_. Good turians don't love, they develop _affectus_ after they have entered the _praecipit collocatio_that their clans have agreed upon." Another desperate keen that he couldn't stop left his throat. "I may have lost everything today. I'm such an idiot."

Frank put a hand on Garrus's knee. "Hey, birdy, I saw you two and I'm sure she is just as crazy about you as you are about her."

"But humans are different." Garrus sighed. "She might change her mind, this could all be too much for her. She already heard the hatred from my father and now with what I said... Even if she gets the message, she has enough time to think about it and decide that this is all not worth the emotional stress, and I can't join her team and..."

"Good god, Garrus, stop before I punch you in the face!" Johnson yelled at him. He was about to yell some more but was interrupted by a chime from Nihlus omni-tool. They all stared at him as he opened the interface. Nihlus quickly read the message and a trill of relief left him. He had obviously been more worried than he had let on. "Leo relayed a message from Shepard. It says: Sorry for not saying goodbye, misunderstanding. I'm coming back to you, I promise."

Garrus trilled loudly, allowing himself to hope again. Nihlus was typing on his omni-tool, his mandibles spread in a smile. When he shut down the interface he noticed that the other two were staring at him. He grinned, "I sent a message to Leo, thanking him for his effort and asking him to meet me at Chora's Den tonight." He trilled excitedly. It was very clear what Nihlus had planned for that date.

Frank stared at him. "So you're planning on seducing the poor guy?"

"You have to try everything at least once, I always say." Nihlus purred, scooting closer to Frank, "You could have been my first human male, pretty little monkey-man, but you refused me... such a shame..." He was breathing down the side of Frank's neck and Frank's face turned deep red.

Frank was wincing. "If he's your first you might want to look up on lube and preparation, and that's _all_ I'm ever going to say about this. Can we focus on Garrus here? Are you okay now, birdy?"

Garrus nodded, the relief enclosing him like a warm blanket. "I'm better now. Thanks for being here." He settled the underside of his fringe against the roll on top of the backrest, consciously relaxing his shoulders. The beer and two glasses of turian brandy he had had also helped to finally get him to lose some of the tension in his body.

Nihlus poured another brandy for him and Garrus, while Frank poured himself another whiskey. He sighed, "I'm going to be so drunk when I get back to Sarah tonight, I hope she won't kick me out."

Nihlus laid his head back in the same manner as Garrus did, smiling. "If she accepts you as a drunken fool, you have found yourself a woman to treasure. You better hold on to her." Frank nodded at that, breathing in the aroma of the whiskey.

Garrus felt utterly exhausted. He closed his eyes, trying to call up the memory of Shepard in his arms, lying on top of him. Her smile, her hum. That reminded him of the red flower and he opened his eyes to look for it. He couldn't remember what he had done with it after picking it up from the floor. He found it on the drawer chest on the wall and he got up to get it. As he held it between his fingers, the soft scent yet again came back to him and he breathed it in deeply.

Frank looked up and pointed to the flower. "Where did you get that flower from?" Nihlus looked up with interest and sniffed the air. "It smells nice."

Garrus nodded, "Yes it does, and it has thorns. It's like a combination of beauty and prickliness. Shepard gave it to me, she had it tied to a scope she gave to me as a present."

Frank looked seriously at him. "Shepard gave it to you?" Garrus nodded. "Huh." Garrus felt that he could have said a lot more, and he wanted to hear it. "How do you humans say? Spit? Spill? Whatever, you're thinking of something, tell me, what is it?"

His friend let out a sigh and sat up. "Red is a significant color for humans, do you know why?" Both turians shrugged. Frank shook his head. "Imagine the flower would be blue, what color would you associate with that?" Garrus thought that was a stupid question, "It would be blood-blue of course... oh!" he realized with a start. Red was the color of human blood.

Frank grinned. "Now you got it. Red is the color of blood. It is also the color of danger and warning, but more importantly, it is the color of love!"

Nihlus snickered at that. "Now that is a weird combination: danger, warning and love, all for the same color."

Frank snorted at that. "Honestly, looking at our friend here earlier, the combination doesn't appear all that far fetched." Nihlus's eyes met Garrus's in a startled realization that they had to agree to that.

Frank kept on talking, "In human stories and mythology, love is the strongest emotion one can possibly have, so strong that it can destroy you but it's also stronger than hate and other stuff. There are millions of stories about love overcoming all obstacles or about love leading to devastation. It's true that love can also die or get forgotten but if it stays strong, nothing will keep the lovers apart. So the stories say. Strongest emotion and all that also means that people sometimes go batshit crazy about it, I'm sure turians can relate to that. Anyway, red is the color of love, usually used with a heart as a symbol of love. But the rose is the flower of love." He leaned forward and took the flower from Garrus's hand. "This, my friend, is a red rose. This is _the_flower of love, it doesn't get more symbolic for love than this. I don't know how romantic Shepard is but I'm sure the significance of this is not by chance."

Garrus was stunned. He hadn't even realized that the flower had meant something. The moment where they had hummed together over that flower now became so immensely symbolic in his mind that it hurt to think about it.

He wondered how many signs they missed from each other, like her not knowing what that hum meant and him not knowing what that flower meant. How many other things did they not realize because of cultural differences? Doubt was creeping up inside of him, could this even work? They were from different species, they had completely different cultural backgrounds, they couldn't talk to each other without translators.

Garrus let out an embarrassingly shrill keen, panicking. "Spirits, what am I doing? I didn't even know what that means. What else have I missed? This can never work, we are so different..."

Frank couldn't help but laugh. "Geez, Garrus, do turians self implode when they fall in love? It's a wonder you guys even managed to procreate." He clinked his glass against Nihlus's, "You weren't kidding when you said that turians don't deal with love well. We should put this guy into a coma for the next three weeks. Here, have another of that vile smelling stuff you guys drink." He poured a glass of turian brandy and handed it to Garrus. "Sit down and try to relax, birdy."

Garrus let himself fall down in his chair. The brandy burned it's way down his throat, spreading a welcome warmth in his gizzard. He was feeling sufficiently drunk now to finally relax. So many pictures and words in his head swirling in the drunken sea of his mind. "I need to learn more about humans, I want to understand her. I will buy her roses, lots and lots of red roses, I bet that will make her smile. I love her smile so much. She shows her teeth, and there are these lines on her cheeks like she spreads her mandibles and her eyes shine like the sun..."

Frank whined, "Good god, somebody shoot me. I don't think I can deal with romantic turians. Fucking hell, it's always the tough guys who are the biggest saps. All hard and armored on the outside, but on the inside..."

"That's what she has said too, how turians appear so hard with our armor but in truth we are sensa... sensitive all over..." Garrus felt that he had a stupid smile on his face that just wouldn't go away.

"Nngahh!" Frank covered his ears, "I don't want to hear that, spare me your sex stories." He pointed at Nihlus. "Coma, I'm telling you, either him or me." Nihlus was shaking with laughter.

Garrus felt that he could say something to that but his mouth was not cooperating with his mind. The words were swimming, swirling, and they came out in a skipping song. Frank stared at him and then threw up his hands. "I'm out. My translator is not even trying to make sense of that. Come on birdy, let's get you to bed." Nihlus and Frank appeared on his sides and pulled him upwards. He wanted to tell them that this was really not necessary, he was fine, he could use another drink though...

The room was tilting awkwardly and then went dark.

* * *

He woke up to a pounding headache and his mouth tasting of something rotten.

"I have to stop waking up like that." He mumbled to himself, carefully bringing his head into a position above the rest of his body. Untangling from the sheets he swung his legs out of the bed. His left foot bumped against a bucket and he vaguely remembered hearing Nihlus and Frank talking while they put him on his bed.

"Do turians vomit?" "Vomit if we drink too much? Yes, we do." "We should put a bucket next to him." "Good idea." "Geez, he's heavy..." "Fragile little human..." "Shut up, lizard."

Garrus began shaking his head but stopped when it almost made him turn to the bucket for it's intended purpose. He looked around and gratefully took the glass of water on his bedside table and drained it in one go. He slowly laid back against the headboard, putting his feet back up. Closing his eyes he let the happy memory of the last time he sat like that with Shepard warm himself.

_Spirits, I could use some sex right now._

His omni-tool pinged quietly, announcing a call. He opened the interface to Frank's face, who looked about as hungover as he himself felt. Frank's voice was hoarse, "Hey, you're up early, birdy."

"How do you...?"

"I had your omni-tool ping mine when your vitals would change significantly. Don't worry, the ping's deactivated now, just wanted to make sure that you're okay." Frank yawned and drank some water. "I put a glass of water and some pills on the table for you to help against the worst shit from all the brandy you drank. There's also a bottle on the floor with more water, next to the bucket. Did you have to use the bucket?"

Garrus flinched at the thought, "No, thank the Spirits, I hate having to vomit. Thanks for taking care of me."

Frank smiled at him through the screen. "Hey, it's okay, that's what friends are for man. And it wasn't just me, Nihlus helped too. He stayed with you a bit longer until he had to leave for his rendezvous... man, I hope he didn't traumatize the poor guy."

Garrus wondered about that rendezvous too, just out of curiosity. Personally he had never gotten far with a human male.

Frank had emptied his glass of water, it looked like alcohol was just as dehydrating for humans as it was for turians. He looked back at Garrus, "So, are you okay now? We can't keep you drunk forever and you still have work to do, you know."

"Yeah, I think I'm okay for now." Garrus stretched and took the pills from the table, swallowing them with some water from the bottle.

"Okay, I'll see you later then at C-Sec." Frank suddenly looked thoughtful and then stared at him seriously. "Listen, something else. I'm no expert but from what I read you turians get all horny under pressure and have sex all the time for stress-relief." He raised his hands. "I'm not judging, just saying. Here's the thing though, if you're serious about that human girlfriend of yours you shouldn't have sex with another... person."

Garrus sighed, "You know, I've heard almost the same thing about humans, sex-crazy all the time, unsatisfiable..."

His friend laughed, "Yeah, not surprising, I guess there are sex stories about all species going around. So it isn't true? The thing with sex for stress-relief?"

"No, well, I guess it is true in a way. But it's not like we lose our mind if we don't nail someone against the wall after a stressful day." Garrus said. "So you're saying that humans don't have casual sex?"

"Oh hell no, of course we have casual sex!" Frank laughed out loud. "If the relationship is casual, everybody can have sex with everybody, happens all the time. But if the relationship is serious, well... then humans believe in monogamy. If you are serious about your woman, and after last night I'm sure you are, then you better not fuck around."

"Spirits, thanks for warning me." Garrus had a short burst of panic. He had just thought about sex, and he might have fucked it all up for some asari fringe in his face. "I guess I have to use the workout room a lot during the next days."

"If it helps." Frank yawned again. "Other than that, we have enough work to do to bury ourselves under it. This case with the turian liver and all the other organs is giving me the creeps. You have to find out something about that, I'm heading to my next cleaning shift at Everest Artifics, maybe I can find out something too."

Garrus nodded, "Alright, I'll see you later then." He closed the interface and laid back with a sigh. Now that the headache had mostly disappeared, he just wanted to fall asleep again.

His thoughts went back to Shepard and it amazed him again how the mere thought of her made him light up in desire. Just thinking about her smile and her soft skin made his erection poke out between his plates. He touched himself, imagining her fingers stroking him, gripping him, pumping. Her breath on his neck, her tongue on his mandibles, just the memory was enough for him to moan. He worked his hand up and down his erection, thrusting into his hand as if she was on him again, molding against him, taking him in. It took very little time for him to arch his back and come all over his hand.

His seed dripping from his hand, he keened quietly. He missed her. After this short time he really shouldn't, but he did.

The next few weeks were going to be hard.

* * *

Garrus stretched in his office chair and contemplated once again if he could take another sick day. He knew full well that he had done that too much lately and it wouldn't help with his immediate problem anyway. Frank had been right, the case with the transplants was creepy.

Garrus was checking the DNA profiles of the other samples he had the doctor make. Instead of embarrassing himself once again by asking the family about someone who should be dead but wasn't, he checked the background first. Tax notifications, work permits, anything he could look into without getting a warrant first. A very simple pattern became obvious. Every single one of the organ donors was still alive. Every one of them worked at Everest Artifics.

A chill crept up his spine. He sent a quick message to Frank, he had been right, Sarah shouldn't work there anymore. Neither should Frank.

Despite the fact that organs donors normally did not continue to live, it also couldn't be a coincidence that they had all the same employer. This should warrant a closer investigation, it should even convince Pallin. He got up and gathered his findings on a datapad to talk to his boss.

Garrus made his way over to Executor Pallin's office, nodding at people he came across along the way. A few turian colleagues asked him about Frank, showing more interest towards his human friend than ever before. He wondered what Frank had done after Batius's accident to get on everybody's good side for a change. He made a mental note about that, his friend must have neglected to tell him a few things.

Having arrived at Pallin's door, he rapped his knuckles along the frame of the already open door. One of the very few nice qualities of Pallin was that he truly had an open door policy, his door was never closed. He said he liked hearing his people work, but Garrus suspected that he just wanted to stay on top of the gossip.

"Executor? Do you have a minute?"

"Vakarian, yes, come in."

Garrus stepped in front of the desk, facing the dark turian with the white markings. "Sir, Johnson and I have further investigated the findings from the warehouse. As you have seen in our report..." Garrus was pretty sure that Pallin never read that report but he couldn't let that assumption show, "...we found organs for transplant in cold storage, complete with life support systems. I have reviewed the donors and found some disturbing things."

Pallin trilled in surprise. "You found something that is disturbing _you_? You have me intrigued, Vakarian."

Garrus laid out the facts, getting the expected disbelief from his boss at first, but he couldn't deny that this needed some further investigation. Pallin read through the report from Dr. Kaltkan and the report of the questioning he did of Titus Kerdotus with Peters and Lerv.

Pallin looked up to him. "These two new recruits, Peters and Lerv, what do you think of them?"

"They are good officers. Peters reacted much better than me in this weird situation with the undead donor. I saw them again later, when Shepard and I had busted the salarian slaver down in the ward. As far as I know they did good work there too."

Pallin hummed angrily. "About that, how did you end up with this human Lieutenant in an ANIS investigation? I like to be informed if one of my officers runs around with another agency."

Garrus stretched his throat, what exactly could he tell Pallin? His sexual escapades were hardly a reason he wanted to tell Pallin, and somehow his mind was completely blank about anything else when it came to Shepard. "I... I met her through Spectre Nihlus Kryik. They had worked together before." Pallin trilled annoyance at that, it was well known that he disliked Spectres.

"Me meeting her later was... just a coincidence..." Garrus held tight control of his subharmonics to not release more information about that meeting than he wanted. He had to stomp down on those memories with force. "Lieutenant Shepard had received information about the slaves from a krogan battlemaster who worked as a mercenary for the salarian. We had very little time to react. I didn't even have armor, we had to borrow that from a weapons dealer." A startled trill left him, he still needed to return that armor along with his endorsement.

"A krogan mercenary gave Lieutenant Shepard this information? What did he want in return?"

Garrus avoided an annoyed trill, Pallin really didn't read any reports. "Nothing. Apparently he wanted to save the children. He is a friend of Shepard's."

Pallin trilled in astonishment. "She is friends with a krogan battlemaster? And he just wanted to save the children? This story is almost stranger than the one you have told me before, Vakarian." Pallin shook his head and then pinned Garrus with his eyes. "Your stint with ANIS had annoyed me a lot, you know?"

Garrus trilled an apology but Pallin stopped him with a reassuring trill. "It's alright now. I had an interesting conversation with the head of the first interspecies ANIS group, a turian named Jentarius Keggs. Seems to be a very capable man and I find it much easier to agree with ANIS than with the Spectres."

Now that - Garrus had not expected. Pallin was always so sure that he was the only one who knew the rights and wrongs around the Citadel. Hearing him talk about someone else as capable, Garrus never would have thought it possible. Especially not involving a human organization. But if they had appointed a turian to lead the first ANIS group, the organization clearly wasn't that human centric.

Pallin kept on talking. "Agent Keggs has asked me about you Vakarian, and about your connection to Lieutenant Shepard. I couldn't say anything about that, care to enlighten me, Officer?" Garrus couldn't help himself, he stretched his throat in embarrassment. Now was certainly not the time to make whatever kind of relationship he had with Shepard public.

He made his subvocals sound secure when he answered. "We are friends, Sir. As I said before, I met Lieutenant Shepard through Spectre Nihlus, who I am friends with. I had gotten to know Spectre Nihlus when I applied for the Spectres." No need to clarify that he hadn't really been friends with Nihlus before Frank and him had met him on the Presidium three days ago.

_Three days? When has my life started to get so futuo eventful?_

"Vakarian, you don't exactly play by the rules all the time, don't think I don't notice that. But you are a good investigator and C-Sec is your home. Think about that if you get another offer." Pallin's tone was unusually friendly.

Garrus hummed, confused. "Sir? I don't know what you are talking about."

Pallin snorted, "Don't play dumb with me, Vakarian. If the top agent of ANIS is asking me if he can get you and Frank Johnson for a new ANIS group, then I'm sure you know something about that."

"Sir, I swear, I had no idea. Shepard talked about recruiting for a team at some point in the future but as far as I know that was all just speculation." His thoughts were reeling, it was actually happening, Shepard had already put things in motion. He would be on a team with Shepard. Galaxy-wide investigations, making a real difference. It was like a dream come true.

Garrus straightened his back. "Sir, I will think about any offer seriously. I know that C-Sec has a lot to offer but ANIS sounds very interesting."

Pallin leaned back and studied Garrus for a few seconds. When he spoke again, his voice was still friendly. "When you came here, your father had asked me to take care of you, did you know that?"

Garrus growled quietly. "No, I didn't, but it sounds like something that my father would do." He looked straight into Pallin's face. "The situation has changed, Sir, you have no more obligation to my father now."

Pallin trilled a question but Garrus decided to ignore it. "Sir, I'd like to go now and continue with my investigation. If you could sign the necessary documents..."

His boss looked like he wanted to say more but only nodded and typed something on his terminal. Garrus's omni-tool pinged with the receipt of data from Pallin. He turned around and left the office. It would have been more polite to wait for Pallin to dismiss him but he didn't really care about politeness.

Back in his office he decided to type a message to Shepard. He knew that she wouldn't receive the message until she came back but he felt that he needed to communicate with her, even if it was delayed.

'Hey Shepard. My boss just asked me why ANIS wants to recruit me. You don't waste any time, do you? Now this sounds more annoyed than I meant, I'm very excited about it and I'm looking forward to working with you.' He hesitated, so far this letter didn't really tell anything about his emotions. Just thinking about her made his gizzard clench in longing. 'I'm not very good with this but I want to tell you that I really miss you. I hope you are well.' He groaned and closed the message, queuing it up. A poet he was not.

* * *

Garrus waited in his office for Titus Kerdotus. He had sent Lerv and Peters to pick him up after his shift at Everest Artifics. He needed to know more about this company and maybe someone from the inside could actually tell him something. He looked over the file on his omni-tool again; Titus Kerdotus was a normal citizen, without any criminal record. He was only on file at C-Sec because he had made a statement as a witness once.

The door opened and Kerdotus stepped inside, accompanied by Berdin Lerv. The young salarian freed two chairs from some datapads and sat next to Garrus and set up his omni-tool to record. Garrus stated their names and the date for the record. Titus Kerdotus looked very confused and trilled in panic. "Am I arrested? What for?"

Garrus hummed calmingly. "No, Mr. Kerdotus, you are not arrested. I just have a few questions concerning your employer, Everest Artifics. Please, sit down." Kerdotus sat down, wringing his hands. He looked pale, his plates were dull and cracked. His fringe looked soft and wrinkled, Garrus was sure that he had looked much better the last time they had seen him.

"Mr. Kerdotus, could you tell me what kind of work you do?" Garrus watched the other turian. He was very nervous and he wondered what he was hiding.

Titus Kerdotus suddenly coughed violently and then leaned forward. "Officer, I don't know what you have heard but this company produces skin grafts, artificial skin to replace injured skin. I work in a research laboratory under Dr. Saleon. We try to find new ways to preserve skin and other organs. I..." He coughed again into a piece of cloth. Garrus noticed some faint blue specks appearing on the white cloth. "I always thought we did good work there, we are helping injured people. But lately..."

He stood up and began pacing back and forth in Garrus's small office. His posture was hunched over as if he was in pain. He kept on talking, his voice rough. "Lately strange things have been happening. I don't know what made you think about questioning me but I do have something to tell. Many of my colleagues had accidents, and would spend some time in Dr. Saleon's care. That happened to me too. I fainted at work and Dr. Saleon said he had to clean some poison from my system. I don't know what he did, I was sedated. I woke up, felt fine and the doctor told me that I could get back to work. All I noticed was a little cut on my abdomen. Something like this happened to many of my colleagues. But now I'm getting sick again and I have seen that happen to others too. Dr. Saleon takes them and..." Another violent cough was shaking him, "...they don't come back. Nobody knows what happens to them."

Kerdotus fell back on his chair as Garrus was checking the database for notices of missing persons. "Nobody has filed any missing persons reports, why not?"

The sickly turian was coughing again. "I don't know. They say that they have been sent on a business trip but why would anybody do that with normal lab workers?"

Kerdotus was coughing again, spitting big blots of blue blood. He tumbled over and fell to the floor, convulsing in pain. Garrus stumbled down to him, trying to lift him up. Lerv ran out, yelling for a medic. Kerdotus's eyes locked on Garrus's and he keened in pain. "Tell my mate... she will forever be my sun." He convulsed in pain again, blood appearing all over his clothes from the inside. With a scream he spasmed once, his talons slashing the air. He was breathing in, once, twice, fluid gurgling in his throat, and then he stopped.

Garrus stared in disbelief at the limp body in his arms. Blood was seeping out of him everywhere, forming a big pool of blue around him. Garrus messaged Dr. Kaltkan to come up to his office, he needed to know what had happened to the man.

A few minutes later Dr. Kaltkan pushed through the crowd in front of Garrus's door and knelt down beside him. He put on fresh gloves and carefully cut open Kerdotus's tunic. Garrus felt nausea creeping up in him, the whole body was covered with incisions. Dr. Kaltkan shook his head and motioned for his assistant to transport the body. They carefully took the body out of his arms and placed it in a bag.

Soon after that Garrus was left alone, sitting dazed in a pool of turian blood. He barely felt that Berdin Lerv was helping him up, cleaning some of the blood away as best as he could. Another guy, a turian, was helping him down to the changing rooms, taking off the bloody armor. Someone was shoving him under the shower and the water pattering down on him finally woke him from his daze.

He ran out of the shower, grabbing a towel and opening his omni-tool at the same time. He was about to open a call to Frank when his omni-tool announced a call from him. He opened the call as he grabbed a spare armor-set.

"Frank, get Sarah out of the lab. Something is seriously wrong there, my informant just died on me, bleeding all over."

Frank's face stared back at him, horror etched in his features. "Garrus, Sarah isn't in the lab anymore. They tell me that something happened and she fainted. The doctor took her."

Garrus didn't suppress the loud keen of panic from his subvocals. "Frank, you have to find her, get her away from this doctor, hurry! I'm coming to help you. Find Sarah!" Frank just nodded and ended the call.

Garrus latched on the last pieces of armor, jumped into a pair boots, and grabbed a rifle and a pistol. He turned on his omni-tool, ordering a full team to Everest Artifics.

And then he just ran as fast as he could.

()()()

* * *

**_I know, a bit of a filler but sometimes you just have to go from point A to point B to get to C eventually._**

**_Big thanks to everybody who has been reviewing this story, reviews make me so happy. Also thanks to everyone who put this story on alert, sorry that you all had to wait so long for an update._**

**_Credete has once again almost killed himself editing this, thank you._**

_**Next chapter will be out in a few days. See you all then!**_

* * *

_**Translations for the latin words (does not contain real latin):**_

**_stercus = shit, bullshit_**

**_consilium = purpose_**

**_affectus = love, passion but more formal_**

**_decretum = ruling, decision_**

**_futuo = fuck_**


	12. Chapter 12

_Hello again, dear readers. This one is a bit shorter but the next one is not far out. Thanks to everyone who took the time to review, you are the bestest!_

* * *

()()()

Garrus arrived at Everest Artifics in record time, thanks to taking some notes from Shepard's driving style. He stormed the entrance hall, displaying his C-Sec badge on his omni-tool while downloading the map from the receptionist's VI. Without slowing down he jumped into an elevator and hacked it to take him to the Saleon labs without stopping in between.

He stepped out of the elevator into a quiet hallway, the faint whirring and buzzing of machinery and fume extractors as well as talking, indicating a normal laboratory, undisturbed. A door opened and a human woman in a lab coat with a tray full of small containers stepped out and looked at him, seemingly startled by his presence.

"Vakarian, C-Sec. I'm looking for Frank Johnson and Sarah." He realized that he didn't know Sarah's last name, hopefully Sarah wasn't a common name among humans. The woman in the lab coat recovered from her initial shock and had an expression of annoyance on her face.

"We have five assistants around here with the name Sarah, one of them asari, the rest humans. You'll have to be more specific." _No such luck then_.

"Human, female, smaller size, slender frame, light-brown hair," he rattled off, hoping that he could narrow down the options fast, "She fainted?"

"Oh yes, Sarah Dillon fainted today, she fits your description." The woman vaguely motioned to some point behind him. "They took her into Dr. Saleon's private lab, he has a special treatment for these cases. What is it with her? Someone from the cleaning crew asked about her too and went into the lab, even though it is strictly forbidden to enter Dr. Saleon's lab!" She looked like that was what had annoyed her the most about the situation.

Garrus didn't waste time with an answer and ran towards the door on the other end of the hallway, leaving the human woman yelling behind him. "It is forbidden! Do not disturb the doctor!"

The double doors displayed a red lock as he approached them and even his C-Sec badge was ignored. That happened more often than he cared to think about, making him turn to his hacking programs with practised ease. In theory, the C-Sec signal from his omni-tool should have overridden the doorlock, but that was rarely the case. C-Sec immune doorlocks were a bestseller in certain circles.

That Dr. Saleon had such an immune lock on his door was very telling and didn't bode well for the legality of his work.

The not-quite-legal personal hacking program on his omni-tool made short work of the block, Dr. Saleon obviously didn't spring for the expensive high quality stuff. The doors parted noiselessly and Garrus entered the lab, contemplating if he should draw his gun. The main room that he had entered was full of typical lab tables, full of glassware, scanners, and all kinds of small machinery that he wasn't familiar with. The long wall to the right was covered with workplaces under fume extractors, sealed with transparent doors in front, with things bubbling or sparkling behind. The other walls had doors and windows on them, showing more laboratories with similar workplaces. It all looked very sciency and normal except for the fact that nobody was there.

The room Garrus stood in and the others he could look into through the windows were void of living beings. All the tiny noises he could hear came from the fume extractors running and other appliances in the lab.

A beep made him snap his head around as some little machinery announcing it's success at whatever it was doing and displaying the result on the attached screen. He looked in the test chamber, some small piece of organic meaty material. The results showed numbers of 'cell-growth-rate' and 'regeneration-rate' and other things that didn't mean anything to Garrus. All he could gather was that they did research on organic tissue and cells in this lab, not really surprising.

But why was nobody here?

Garrus placed a call to Frank, growing more nervous the longer he waited for an answer. His scans showed no complete organs but lots of cellwork of organic tissue. He kept scanning for exits, the people in the lab had to have gone somewhere.

He had made it through every single room of the lab when Frank finally answered his call.

"Garrus? I'm at dock 11, Saleon has taken everyone from his lab on a ship. Sarah is with him, Garrus! I'm going in, I can't wait! I saw them, man, I saw how they were bleeding and he was just herding them on the ship and they stumbled... Sarah... like she had no control... I'm going in, get here, Garrus!"

"I'm contacting Citadel control, if they don't give him clearance he won't get away!" His omni-tool beeped at a closet door, indicating a larger room behind it. When he opened the door he saw the inside of a small elevator, only one button on the panel saying 'roof'. He hesitated for a second and then decided to take the chance. If he was lucky, there would be a skycar on the roof. Such a stroke of luck could have him at the docks much quicker than the slow elevator ride.

When he exited the elevator he was relieved that his gamble paid off in the form of a shiny skycar, which he hacked in three seconds. Citadel control finally answered his call and initiated a lockdown on the vessel in dock 11. The controller hesitated for a second and Garrus growled "C-Sec authority!" with all the aggression he could transport through his voice. He launched the car and programmed the destination.

The skycar moved efficiently through the traffic as he ordered the C-Sec team to the dock. He managed to get it to go even faster when he turned it back to manual control. Again taking a note out of Shepard's book, he dived down towards the dock, coming to a screeching halt in front of a small ship.

Frank Johnson and a salarian were in front of the ship in a shouting match. Through the ships open cargo door he could see people standing around. He saw humans, salarians, and asari, just standing there, slightly rocking back and forth. Their eyes were unfocused, staring out into nothing. Garrus saw the slender frame of Sarah among them, red rimmed eyes staring ahead like the others.

He ran towards the salarian who he assumed was Dr. Saleon and motioned with his head to Frank towards Sarah. His friend took the clue and walked over to her as Garrus involved the doctor in an argument to distract him.

"Dr. Saleon, I presume? We have received some disturbing complaints about your work at Everest Artifics. I'm here to take you to C-Sec for questioning." He said with authority.

The salarian doctor had the audacity to smile at him as he shook his head. "You have no warrant for that. You can't just arrest me, and I don't have to come with you. My assistants and I are leaving and there is nothing that C-Sec can do about it." He kept on smiling and turned around to step into the ship.

Garrus clacked his mandibles tight in anger, the salarian was right. The warrant only covered a search of the laboratory. He stepped into the ships door to prevent it's closing, shouting over the rising noise of the ships engines, "You can't just take all these people with you, we can easily arrest you for kidnapping."

Dr. Saleon kept on smiling, just asking for a punch to the face. Garrus was barely able to keep himself under control. The doctor snarled, "These people accompany me out of their own free will, I'm not kidnapping anyone." He turned around and spoke to the dazed people in the cargo hold. "Does anybody want to go?" The people hardly reacted, but they mumbled, "No". The doctor grinned at Garrus in triumph and the turian couldn't stop himself. He grabbed the salarian by one of his horns and slammed his head against the doorframe.

"I don't know what you did to these people but they are not alright!" He growled.

The doctor whined loudly and began muttering salarian curses. A small trail of greenish blood trickled down the side of his dark face. Garrus wanted hit him again just to make sure but someone held his arm back. The C-Sec team had arrived and to them it looked like he was beating up some innocent civilian. So they stopped him, unfortunately.

Dr. Saleon was screeching, "I'll file a complaint about you! I'll sue you! This is outrageous!" He stomped onto the ship and hit the button to lock the door. "I'm leaving, right now!" He screamed. Just as the door was about to close he looked directly at Garrus, and he saw the salarian pull his face into a self-satisfied grin.

Garrus opened a channel to the Citadel control room. "Do not give departure clearance to the ship in docking bay 11. The ship is under C-Sec investigation," he said with authority, hoping someone would listen to him. He looked around, searching for his partner. Frank had managed to coax Sarah out of the cargo hold while Garrus had his argument with the doctor.

He stood with Sarah a little off to the side, holding her by her shoulders, trying to get her attention. She was swaying, her head lolling backwards. Suddenly her knees buckled and she collapsed. Frank managed to catch her in his arms before her head hit the floor.

"Sarah, Sarah, do you hear me? Sarah, baby, please, open your eyes." Frank desperately tried to get a reaction from her but she hung like a puppet in his arms, barely breathing. "Medic! I need a medic here, help!" Frank called out, his voice breaking. Garrus ran over to him, requesting an ambulance to his position with a code through his omni-tool.

The docking clamps still held the ship in place so it looked like someone was at least listening to him. Suddenly Garrus's omni-tool chimed with a call from Dr. Kaltkan. Garrus accepted the call, a bit confused what the doctor needed to tell him directly instead of writing it in a report.

"Vakarian! I have finished the autopsy of Kerdotus, his body was a science experiment. It looks like somebody used his body to grow extra organs! This is most disturbing, I've never seen anything like this! His body had apparently begun to reject the extras, and he died of internal bleeding where the original organs were severed. It seems as if when the doctor found out the extras wouldn't grow properly, he harvested the good organs, and left the extras to rot. This is the worst use of science I have ever..."

"Thanks for the info, doctor!" Garrus interrupted, feeling a short relieve that his hunch about Saleon had been correct. "We have one of his assistants here with us, she seems very sick..."

"Take her to Huerta right away, I will inform them of your arrival and what I know about the case. Hurry, her body is probably destroying itself from the inside."

Garrus felt nauseous, this didn't look good for Sarah. An ambulance had arrived and medics started to take the woman out of Frank's arms. He called over to them, "Take her to Huerta, they're waiting for her there. Dr. Kaltkan called ahead." Frank jumped into the ambulance, grabbing Sarah's lifeless hand.

Behind him Garrus suddenly heard the docking clamps releasing, and as he turned around Saleon's ship was drifting away from the dock and turned around to fly away from the Citadel. Garrus placed a call to Citadel control and began screaming as soon as someone answered.

"What the _futuo_ are you thinking? I ordered you to keep this ship docked! This is an ongoing C-Sec investigation..."

The turian on the other side of the call answered with an aggressive growl but kept his voice calm. "We have not received a warrant from C-Sec, so we had no legal ground to keep this ship docked. Any further..."

"You're letting a criminal scientist get away, along with the people he experimented on. I want Citadel defence forces to shoot the ship, immobilize it. Do it now, don't let him get away..."

The turian controller remained annoyingly calm, "We can't shoot so close to the station and we can't endanger the passengers on the ship." Finally some kind of empathy could be heard in his subvocals, "I set up a trace on the ship so that we can find it again."

"Every halfway competent criminal knows how to get rid of such a trace..." Garrus growled, rumbling his frustration loudly. He watched helplessly as Saleon's ship flew away from the Citadel and then went into FTL with a short flash of light.

Garrus smashed his fist against another flat surface. "Spirits be damned! With all the _stercus_ around here we have to let this piece of lowlife get away!" He jumped in the skycar and programmed the Huerta Hospital as it's destination. He called on the trace that Citadel control had put on the ship but predictably it had already been lost. His hand began to hurt from smashing it into innocent walls and skycar doors.

A C-Sec broadcast on his omni-tool informed him of an explosion and fire at Everest Artifics. 'Figures.' Garrus thought, losing all evidence in a fire was just what this case needed.

His skycar arrived at the hospital platform, as he jumped out of it he programed it to return to it's point of origin. Hopefully it would burn.

On his way to the reception area he contacted the VI for Sarah's location and got directed to the correct floor. Stepping out of the elevator, he immediately saw Frank pacing in front of a glass wall. Through the glass he could see medics attaching sensors to her, an IV drip let into her arm. She lay motionless, only slight tremors made her hands occasionally twitch.

The gurney was moved into a room with medical scanners and the door closed behind the medics, shielding her from their view. Frank turned around and stumbled towards a bench and fell down on the seat. Garrus sat down beside him, feeling utterly helpless. He had no idea what he could do to help his friend.

"I'm so sorry, Frank." He said, putting his arm over Frank's shoulder. "At least we got her away from that doctor, I'm sure they can help her here."

Frank's voice was rough, "Thanks man, I hope so." To Garrus's surprise he leaned his head against his shoulder. He heard him whisper, "I finally found someone... someone so wonderful... special." Garrus felt him shudder and he realized that his friend was crying, almost inaudible. He was shocked, he had never seen Frank like this.

Garrus had seen humans cry before and he was terrified by it. To feel emotions so strongly that their bodies reacted physically by secreting fluids from the inside, it scared him. He had heard that asari could cry too but he had never seen one do it. Asari only cried in private.

He didn't know what to do so he just kept his arm over Frank's shoulder and told him that things were going to be okay.

* * *

Things never got okay.

The doctors had found several extra organs growing inside of Sarah and her body had begun rejecting them. Something in the process made Sarah react differently than the other 'test-subjects', her body changing and fighting at the same time. She woke up shortly and Frank held her hand and told her that he loved her but she only managed to say his name once before she lost consciousness again.

She never woke up again.

After six days of laying unconscious, her heart gave up beating.

Frank had been by her side, holding her hand. He only let Garrus lead him out of the room after the nurse told him that she was dead.

Garrus took him home and made him lie down on his bed. Frank was eerily quiet, lying on his side with his eyes open. Unblinking eyes staring at nothing. Garrus was reminded of old stories he had heard when he had been a child, stories of the night-birds who stole children's Spirits. The next morning the children were alive but empty, a hollow shell.

Just like Frank was now.

Frank had lost his Spirit, his soul as the humans would say.

Garrus didn't know what to do. He had dealt with loss before, that was unavoidable as a C-Sec officer. He had delivered the news of a dead relative before, he had comforted people who griefed. But it had never been a friend, his best friend. There was nothing he could do to stop the pain.

He had a good idea how Frank felt, and he had to push any thought about Shepard far away from his mind. Just thinking if anything like that would happen to her made him keen in grief. He had written another letter to her, queued up for later delivery. It had been hard to tell Sarah's story but he did want her to know about it.

Writing her had become a daily habit for him and he had gotten better at it too. His letters actually resembled coherent writing most of the time. He told her of the things that happened each day, things he liked and disliked. He tried to make it feel like a conversation with a friend. What he didn't write about were his feelings for her. He could only hope that they could continue where they had left off when they would meet again.

The writing had helped him too, putting his thoughts into order and dealing with Frank's grief.

The aftermath of the Saleon disaster had made it clear to him that he needed to get away from C-Sec. He had to answer to an extended questioning how he could possibly order Citadel defence to fire on a civilian ship and why the whole case had turned into such a _stercus_. After nobody had even touched the case for the longest time and then no one listened to him when they had had the chance to stop the guy! He had a hard time not to smash someone's face in when he got asked the same questions again and again.

Whenever Garrus had to go to C-Sec, he made sure that someone else was with Frank. Nihlus stayed for two days before the Council ordered him elsewhere. Batius and Tinlenus and some other turians from C-Sec came around as well as all of the few humans who worked there. Frank didn't talk much at first but after a short time he started to talk about Sarah. Little snippets of their short time together, things she had said or did.

Garrus was relieved when he saw his friend returning. He didn't expect him to turn back into old Frank and he was right about that. Frank had been broken and he would never be the same. He seemed more fragile. Garrus wondered how many more blows he could take after this one.

* * *

Two weeks went by, everyday in the same halted rhythm. Garrus slept on a spare mattress in Frank's living room. He had brought his own pillowroll to sleep on, as human pillows were impossible for turian heads, and that made the bed bearable. It was better than his bed in the barracks back in basic, so that was definitely a plus.

He went to C-Sec every day to answer questions from somebody else. It was internal affairs investigators one day, lawyers the other day, quality control, Citadel defence and control, and even a spectre asked him questions. Questions after questions but nobody actually did anything. Saleon had disappeared, chances of ever finding him again were slim. Not that anybody even tried.

The only thing keeping him sane was the prospect of switching from C-Sec to ANIS as soon as Shepard came back. If he didn't have that to look forward to he might just quit. The labyrinth of rules and regulations that made it almost impossible to actually get some work done at C-Sec frustrated him even more now. Garrus was also suspicious about corruption at C-Sec, way too often lawyers knew way too many things about difficult cases.

He found it especially telling how many well dressed lawyers Everest Artifics had produced to drill him about his investigation. Two of them wore little pins with a strange symbol, yellow, white, and black. He discreetly took a picture of it with his omni-tool and set up an Extranet search for it. These lawyers were different than the others, they didn't ask about the doctor or his test-subjects. All they asked about was the lab, the equipment he had seen, the organs C-Sec had in storage. They seemed to be mostly annoyed that he hadn't copied any files from Dr. Saleon to his omni-tool. Those lawyers made him extremely uncomfortable.

He talked about them with Frank that night and they looked at the results the search algorithm had turned up. The symbol apparently belonged to a human supremacist group called Cerberus. Formerly a special ops branch of the Alliance, they had separated themselves from government affiliations and became privately funded. Their involvement in a human-salarian company like Everest Artifics was unusual, as they normally avoided dealing with aliens.

The work of Dr. Saleon must have been extremely valuable if they managed to overlook their speciesism and work with aliens. Maybe they just saw it as some stupid alien doing all the hard work for them. The turian separatists from the group Facinus had done the same back when they hacked the FTL plotter from a ship so that it rammed into the main city of Taetrus. Despite being turian supremacists they had employed a quarian engineer to supply the knowledge about FTL drives that they had lacked.

Frank started to seriously investigate Cerberus, and Garrus was glad that he had found something to do. He didn't know if this was the human way of dealing with grief, but for a turian, griefing meant to do something. To find a purpose, solve a problem, anything to feel useful. So he could relate to Frank's new obsession and he was glad to help him with it. It also helped himself, due to the fact that he was still suspended from C-Sec work, so he was grateful for the distraction.

Still, after a week of being suspended, Garrus began to feel bored out of his mind. It was also rather hard to stay celibate. Not that he had been jumping from bed to bed before, but now that he actually wouldn't allow himself to do it - he could hardly take his mind off sex. The workout room saw him a lot, he spent at least two hours every day there. He would be in good condition when Shepard came back.

The treacherous voice of his father in the back of his head kept telling him that she still wouldn't be interested in him anymore. _That's what humans do, they don't keep their words._

He kept that voice down every day as best as he could by almost destroying the punching bag.

()()()

* * *

_Emotions, how do I ...?_

_I'm sorry that Sarah had to die before she could become a real character, poor thing didn't even get any lines. But somebody had to die and it was either her or Frank. Frank Johnson is needed later so poor Sarah got the short straw. Sorry, my girl. __(So far this fic doesn't even pass the Bechdel-test, how embarrassing.)_

_I had written some 4000 words more for this chapter but I decided to make two chapters out of it, so the next chapter is already done for the most part and will be posted very soon. Yay!_

_And of course thanks to Credete for editing instead of sleeping._


	13. Chapter 13

_See, I promised it wouldn't be a long wait. As always, your reviews make me happy and I also get embarrassingly happy everytime I pull up the Stats page and see that so many people are actually reading this. Thank you, every single one of you._

_Today, we have more drama and Shepard is coming back. Enjoy!_

* * *

()()()

After three weeks of suspension after the Saleon disaster, Frank and Garrus finally returned to work. They started with a security concept for the festival that Nihlus and Shepard had invented. Garrus was impressed, Anderson's staff and the turian teacher Atika Birdan had managed to set this small festival up in record time. It helped that they could use existing infrastructure by extending a concert with an asari singer that had already been planned at a market square down in Quedgin.

They opened the square earlier and set the concert up as the end of the "All Together" festival. Several schools had performances prepared and showed them on an open stage on one side of the market. All other sides of the market square had food stands with delicacies from all over the galaxy. In an adjacent warehouse, Garrus recognized it as the one where the metal concert had taken place, a martial arts tournament was to be held in the afternoon.

Garrus and Frank had worked out security shifts and drilled everybody in showing presence without intimidating the festival visitors. They set up mixed teams, combining two turians with someone from another species, to reflect the spirit of the festival. So far things had worked out nicely.

Garrus was in an exceptionally good mood today because this morning he had finally received a message from Shepard. It was just a short text, telling him that her training was finally over and she officially was an N7 now. She was on Elysium for a few days of celebration and then would come back to the Citadel. Her message ended with, 'I have been thinking about you all the time, looking forward to seeing you again.' Garrus finally felt hopeful again.

Frank, Garrus, and Tinlenus had just started their own shift as festival patrol again, after having taken a break to eat something. Garrus had tried something from a food stand that prepared dextro-versions of levo-meals. His meal had been called 'Spaghetti with tomato-sauce' and was pretty good, and according to Frank at least smelled sort of like the real thing. Frank had eaten a levo-version of Garlefka and announced that it was just like a burger with chilli. His eyes had watered a bit but he had assured them that he was fine.

They had started the day early by opening the location and overseeing the preparations. After the food stands had been set up and opened, the first school performance had started. An asari school had been dancing human ballet and afterwards a group of salarian singers performed human, asari, and even krogan songs. Later on a mixed school was supposed to show human, asari, and turian formal dances.

So far they had had almost no problems between the different species visiting the festival. People were talking to each other, trying different foods and applauding all performances. It almost made Garrus nervous how well everything went.

A group of turians, who Garrus thought he recognized as the ones that had attacked Lieutenant Shepard three weeks ago, had actually tried to provoke some conflict. But the rallying speech from the leader got loudly interrupted by Atika Birdan and other festival visitors, and after a short argument they left quietly. They had realized that they would not win any supporters here. Everybody from every species was friendly to each other.

Which was why they all were surprised when suddenly a loud commotion began in front of the warehouse where the martial arts tournament was held. A turian woman in an old fashioned tunic held her son with her hand who had a smug grin on his face. She was yelling at one of the human tournament organizers.

"How can you let children watch this? It's outrageous, a performance like that for everybody to see, highly inappropriate!" Her son grinned and was clearly of a different opinion. Garrus wandered over to the woman to see if he could help.

"Vakarian, C-Sec, what seems to be the problem?" He asked, letting his omni-tool display his badge. Tinlenus and Frank did the same behind him. The human turned towards him with a confused look on his face.

"Sir, I have no idea. This woman thinks we do something inappropriate here but I assure you we have only standard martial arts here, official guide lines, correct clothing, I honestly don't know what the problem is. I'm very sorry if we somehow offended her." The human man shrugged his shoulders and Garrus saw that he was truly apologetic.

The turian woman began to shriek again but Garrus stopped her with a trill and went inside the warehouse with Frank to take a look. In the middle of the room, a raised area with mats had been set up and right now two human women in sturdy white clothing were fighting. They were grabbing each other roughly, trying to push the other to the ground. The wall-display said something about 'Judo' and had a timer running down.

Garrus stared for a minute, he had an idea why the woman, who according to her clothing was probably rather traditional, had been outraged. Beside him Frank shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't get it, there's nothing wrong here. I thought we would see naked mud-fighting the way she was acting but this is just normal Judo."

Stretching his throat, Garrus looked at his friend. "You've never watched turian porn, right?"

Frank looked taken aback, "No, why would... holy shit! Are you telling me that two women fighting is basically porn for you guys?"

Garrus trilled quietly in embarrassment, "Well, usually they wear tighter clothing, but two women fighting over a man is a common scenario in turian porn." He sighed, the things you have to think about when it came to interspecies understanding.

For the first times in weeks Frank was truly laughing, bending over in laughter with tears in his eyes. He looked around, there were humans, asari, and quite a lot of turians in the audience. "Don't tell me all these guys are just here to get turned on."

Garrus shook his head, "It sure looks interesting but I think you have to be very old fashioned to confuse this with... well... porn."

Frank sniggered, "Man, I have to take you guys to mud-wrestling one day, your heads are going to explode." Garrus looked at his friend, relieved that he appeared like his old self again. Suddenly Frank looked at him with a mischievous grin. "You know who else has participated in martial arts tournaments who we could probably find vids from on the Extranet?" He grinned even more. "Lieutenant Shepard has fought in tournaments."

Garrus's mind was busily supplying him with imaginary pictures of Shepard fighting, maybe in a tighter white dress, and what was it what Frank had said about mud-wrestling? He got jolted out of his daydream by a hard punch on his neck from Frank who couldn't stop grinning.

"I wondered if I needed to reboot you or something, you were gone, birdy!" Frank said with a laugh. "What are we going to do now? You think this is really inappropriate for turians?"

Garrus shook his head and turned to go back outside, "No, there's nothing wrong here. Let me talk to her, she looks very traditional and I don't think every turian mother would see this as strict as she does. Let's put up a sign at the entrance that says that small children shouldn't watch it because of the violence or something."

Frank snorted, "Violence, sure..."

They went back outside. But the commotion had stopped and the whole market was eerily quiet.

Everybody looked to one of the news-displays. Grainy images from traffic cameras showed streets destroyed from bombardments, people running in panic, and batarian mercenaries shooting at them. The caption under the picture scrolled the same words over and over again: "Pirates attack Elysium, heavy losses, reinforcements days away."

Garrus felt his knees shake. Frank grabbed his arm and led him to a bench to sit down. _She can't be dead, not now, she can't be dead. She. Can't. Be. Dead._

* * *

Garrus didn't remember how he got back to C-Sec headquarters. He vaguely recalled that they had canceled the rest of the festival but people had stayed in the market, watching the news together and supporting each other. Elysium was a human colony but many asari, turians, and salarians had settled there as well. Everybody was afraid for the people on the colony.

The cameras had begun showing some kind of resistance fighting against the pirates, but soon after that the communications satellite was apparently damaged and no pictures came from Elysium anymore.

Garrus spent the next days in a daze, watching the news for anything new from Elysium.

After three days the Alliance fleet finally arrived and repelled the attack. The human pirate leader Elanos Haliat fled when the Alliance arrived and the planet was soon freed from the mercenaries. Soon after that the news began to trickle back to the Citadel.

Humanity had a new hero: Lieutenant Shepard!

The first attack from the pirates had been an orbital strike to the Alliance barracks and the city's police building, somehow circumventing the orbital protection systems of the planet. After that, the pirates had landed, hardly meeting any resistance after having blown up most of the soldiers and police.

Lieutenant Shepard had managed to rally her N7-exam colleagues and a bunch of civilians to take up weapons and defend the main street. She set up a perimeter that the pirates couldn't cross without getting shot at from cover. Using this technique she held them off for three days without supplies until the Alliance arrived. When the marines finally found her, her team and the civilians they protected, they were almost delirious from their wounds and from hunger. A rumour said that Lieutenant Shepard had been awake for the whole three days, high on stims. When they found her and she saw that everybody was safe, she collapsed. She remained unconscious when they brought her back on the ship and flew her and her team to the Citadel.

* * *

Garrus stood anxiously at the dock where Shepard's transport was supposed to arrive, it had been six days since the attack and so far there had been no interviews with her. He was worried that maybe her condition was so bad that she couldn't even talk.

Finally the transport pulled into the dock and a mass of reporters ran towards the entrance to get a glimpse of the new hero. Cameras were zipping around when the door opened and showed a bunch of medical personnel, protecting gurneys from the pushing reporters. The gurneys were quickly loaded into cars and took off towards the hospital. Now people who were in good enough condition to walk exited the transport ship. Most of them had been patched up in some way and they were all very pale. The majority were human but a few asari and turians came out as well, looking just as bad as everybody else. The reporters were running around the survivors, catching statements, arranging interviews, but Garrus wasn't interested in them.

Frank appeared at his side, "I think she was on one of the gurneys. Let's go to the hospital, I know a nurse who works there and maybe she can tell us something." Garrus just nodded, his throat too dry to talk.

The hospital was extremely busy and the staff was quick to dismiss them in favour of real patients. Luckily, Frank managed to get the attention of one of the asari nurses who let them into the restricted area of the hospital. Under the promise of confidentiality, she let them into a lab that had a glass wall on one side. Behind the glass, two beds stood side by side, both with a human on them. One was a male, the other a female. Garrus's breath stopped. _There she is!_

He couldn't see much from her, there were IV-drips leading into her arms and a mask on her face, giving her oxygen-rich air to breath.

The nurse whispered to them, "As you can see, she is breathing on her own, that is a good sign. She wasn't badly injured, but she has pushed her body to it's absolute limits, not eating, hardly any fluids, no sleep for three days. We gave her a mild sedative and she is just sleeping off the exhaustion. The IV-drips are there to hydrate her again and to give her nutritions." She must have sensed Garrus's distress because she put a hand on his arm and tried to hum reassuringly, as much as an asari was capable of that. "The doctors are sure that she's going to be okay by tomorrow. The Alliance admirals can hardly wait for her to wake up, they want to have a big ceremony for her where she will be promoted..."

Garrus tuned out her talking and laid his forehead against the cool glass next to his hand. "Can I go in?" He asked and he knew without even looking that the asari was shaking her head. "I'm sorry but this is all I can do for you, the room entrance is protected, only Alliance higher-ups and family members are allowed to visit." Garrus nodded, he had expected that. Afterall, he was just some unknown turian, why should they let him in?

He looked at her once more and then indicated with his head towards Frank that they should go. Silently, they left and walked past the horde of people who stood in the waiting area, listening to a statement from a doctor. He said pretty much the same thing as the nurse had said and Garrus saw no point in staying. He couldn't do anything for her here.

Frank brought him back to his apartment and Garrus returned to staring at the news station. His friend handed him a beer and they sat silently together until they both fell asleep.

* * *

The next day he saw Shepard on the news. She was dressed in an Alliance uniform and gave a short interview about her situation and the attack on Elysium. Her answers were short, and it wasn't quite clear if she was annoyed or just exhausted. In the afternoon he saw another newscast about her, the hero of Elysium as they called her. They had a ceremony on the Presidium for her, where they announced her promotion and gave her a medal. She smiled at the cameras with her medal but Garrus knew a false smile when he saw one. Her face was like a mask.

He had messaged her as soon as he had heard that she was awake but he hadn't received an answer yet. Doubt was creeping up in him again. She had avoided him.

On the vid screen the ceremony had come to an end and Shepard had disappeared. He kept watching for the chance to see her somewhere but the only person coming up on camera was a human man named Svend Lee. Garrus recognized him as the one who had shared the hospital room with Shepard. The newly promoted Lieutenant Lee had held the perimeter alongside Shepard and was happy to tell everybody the story. Most information in the newscasts about the resistance on Elysium had come from him.

Garrus was only half-hearted listening when his door chimed. He thought that it would be Frank, who had wanted to get lunch, and got up to open the door for him. But when the door opened it revealed the hunched figure of the newly promoted Commander Shepard. She looked up at him and tried to smile, but the smile couldn't chase away the haunted look in her eyes.

He hesitated for a second, and then stepped forward and pulled her into a tight embrace. He felt her relax as she let her weight fall on him with a strange sound coming from the back of her throat. He pulled her up so that her feet left the ground and carried her over to the couch.

As he sat down she gripped his cowl even tighter, and some part of him wanted to rejoice loudly that she was finally here with him. _My Shepard!_

But he also felt her sadness and he knew that nothing was really okay.

They sat silently in this embrace, her legs dangling off his lap to one side, her face hidden in his cowl. After a while she began to whisper. "They promoted me and gave me a medal."

He whispered into her hair, "I know, I saw it on the news."

She stayed silent for a while and then whispered so quietly that he almost didn't hear her, "Nobody sees that I'm not a hero."

He carefully put his hand under her chin and pulled back so that he could look into her eyes. "You saved so many, without you they wouldn't have had a chance. That was heroic."

She sat up and turned around and slid down on the couch beside him. Her hands were fighting with each other, wringing, pinching. Looking at her hands, one twisting around the wrist of the other, she sighed and began talking.

"There was this girl, she reminded me of myself, as young as I was when the batarians attacked Mindoir. But she wasn't helpless like me, she knew how to shoot a gun, she could fight! And I thought... I thought - she could do what I couldn't back then. She could be strong, not hiding in the woods like a little coward. I should have sent her away with the others, but I didn't."

By now her hands were gripping each other so hard that the knuckles turned white. Garrus took her hands in his, stroking them, trying to get them to let go of each other. He put all his empathy in his subharmonics, humming at her.

Her voice was rough and bitter. "She died within the first hour. A batarian sneaked up on her. I was distracted, trying to get everybody in line, to stay in cover and not shoot around wildly. God, they were all running around like headless chickens, like they had never seen an alien pirate before. I saw him out of the corner of my eye and I yelled at her to shoot but she just stared. She was frozen in panic. Just because you know how to shoot rabbits on a field doesn't mean you can fight batarians."

Garrus noticed that her hands were full of cuts and some of them had started bleeding again from all the wringing she did. He got up to get a medical pad to clean her wounds and she got up as well. She stood in front of the window, a dark shadow against the bright Citadel sky.

"I should have seen that, I should have seen that she was just a little girl. How could I expect her to turn into a killer on my command, she was just a little girl... a little girl..."

He finally realized that she didn't need her wounds cleaned, her pain came from deep inside, not from the cuts on her hands. Carefully, he stepped closer to her and put his arm around her. "You couldn't have known, there was no time..." He tried to make his voice sound calm despite his emotions swirling in chaos inside of him.

She was shaking her head, turning away from his embrace. Her arms were wrapping around herself, her hands squeezing the skin on her arms.

"This batarian fucker grabbed her by her hair and slammed a device in the back of her neck. It must have been something like they use on the slave collars only this one was set to pain. She fell down shaking, screaming in pain, and the guy just laughed and raised his gun at me."

Garrus made a step closer to her but she turned away from him again. He put his hand on her shoulder to show her that he was still there.

"I lost it. I just rammed into him, started beating him. I beat that four-eyed fucker to death with my bare hands."

She was breathing hard. "I killed him, I kept beating him even when he wasn't moving anymore, and the whole time that poor girl was screaming in pain and I didn't help her, I just kept beating this guy like that would help me, like a monster... I should have helped her but I couldn't think... I kept beating him and beating him and I only stopped when she had stopped screaming. I looked up from the bloody mess that had been his face and saw that she had died, her body had given up."

He saw tears running down her cheek, terrifying tears and he put his arms around her again, hoping that she would allow him to hold her now. She stiffened and then suddenly it was like she lost all bones in her body and fell into his arms, sobbing, "I should have helped her, I should have helped her!" He hummed in grief for her.

She kept on crying and crying.  
Terrifying tears.

After what seemed like hours she stopped crying, wiping her nose on a handkerchief and he led her back to the couch. He was surprised to see bags with food on the table, Frank must have come in at some point without them noticing. Apparently he just put the food on the table and left again.

Garrus had enough experience with humans to see that she was utterly exhausted and he picked her up and carried her to his bedroom. He carefully placed her on the bed and then took off her shoes. She took off her uniform jacket and shimmied out of her pants. His breath hitched on the sight of her in her plain white underwear. He quickly put a blanket over her.

He knelt beside the bed, holding her hand. She looked at him and his heart was beating faster. The circumstances may have been bad but he just couldn't stop this feeling of happiness that she was finally back again. She raised her head to whisper, "Lie with me. Hold me, please."

He swallowed, he didn't want to come across like a horny teenager but he couldn't stop the wave of desire that rushed through him. "I'm not sure that is such a good idea," he said with an embarrassed trill, "I missed you a lot and I... I can't stop my plates from moving when I'm so close to you I think"

"It's okay. I missed you too." She showed a little smile for the first time and Garrus felt like stumbling into it. "But my state is just not that obvious like yours."

He swallowed again and then shrugged out of his tunic, only leaving his underpants on. He crawled under the blanket behind Shepard and nuzzled her head. Something that felt like a knot in his chest sprang free with a snap and he allowed himself to feel happy to finally have her in his arms like this.

They stayed like that for a while and he wondered if she had fallen asleep, but suddenly he heard her talking quietly.

"I feel dead inside. Like I'm not really here."

He pulled her even closer, her butt molding against his hard penis. He couldn't stop a groan escaping. "You are definitely here. Certain parts of my anatomy are very aware of you."

He felt, more than heard her chuckle. "Maybe you turians have the right solution with your sex as stress relief." Her hips rubbed against him.

He held his breath for a second. "I don't want to have meaningless sex with you."

"Nothing is ever meaningless with us. But I don't want to feel dead anymore." She whispered and twisted her body to look at him. "Please, break through me. Find me again."

He raised himself on his elbow and she turned on her back, pulling his face down for a kiss. He groaned when her tongue touched his and he lost himself in the sensations. Her tongue so soft and strong at the same time, her lips so soft, suckling on his mouthplates, her moaning. She broke away and wrapped her tongue around his mandible, sucking on it. He purred and felt his erection throbbing in his pants. He fell on his side and pulled her towards him. Her body was molding against his and he had to bring up every little bit of control to not slam into her like a wild animal.

All his senses focused on her and her pleasure and he noticed right away when something suddenly changed. She stiffened and turned her face away and he instantly gave her space. He felt her shiver and she curled up like small child. His erection strained painfully against his pants but he ignored it and very softly put his arms around her from behind her back.

She whispered, "I'm sorry, I can't..." She curled up even more, her whole body tense.

"It's okay." He held her close again, it felt right.

"I'm not much of a turian I'm afraid."

He nuzzled her head. "I don't want you to be a turian." _I love you, just you_. "Let me just hold you."

She fidgeted as if to try to get up. "I can't.."

He nuzzled her neck, inhaling her scent. "Let me be here for you, let me hold you." He let his subharmonics hum soothingly.

She whispered, "Okay," and he felt her relax. After a little while her breathing became more even and he felt that she had fallen asleep. He kept humming and holding her until he was sure that she wouldn't wake up when he got up.

Carefully, he slipped out of the bed and for a little while he just stood there and watched her, thinking. How fragile she looked. How strong she was despite that. How much he had missed holding her. How very much something behind his cowl wanted to explode.

()()()

* * *

_Perfect boyfriend is perfect._

_I know, there she goes and turns Garrus into a can-do-no-wrong-Mary-Sue (Garry-Sue, hehe) but you know what? Isn't it sad that the willingness to wait with sex until your girlfriend is mentally and physically ready makes a character an unrealistic Mary-Sue?_

_Just sayin'._

_Sex in the next chapter, I promise._

_And of course thanks again to Credete, who forgoes sleep and other healthy behaviours to edit these chapters._


	14. Chapter 14

_Welcome, dear readers!_

_I want to thank you, every single one of you who put this story on alert, favorited it or even reviewed it with big sloppy internet hugs. {{hug}}_

_Ye who have come here for plot be warned, only romance and smut up ahead. _

* * *

()()()

Garrus sat down on the couch and picked some food out of the blue bag that Frank had left on the table while he tried to convince his penis to calm down. He wasn't very successful. With a frustrated groan he laid his head back against the headroll as he noticed that his omni-tool indicated a message. It was a short note from Frank, asking 'Everything alright?'. He initiated a call back to him and his friend answered right away.

"How's it going, birdy?" Frank looked at him from the translucent screen with a sheepish grin. "You noticed the food?" Garrus nodded at that. Frank ruffled his own hair, "Yeah, I just ran in and I was halfway in the room when I saw you guys by the window and she was crying and... I thought I _really_ didn't need to be in this room."

"Thanks, Frank," Garrus said. "I don't know if I helped her but she is sleeping now."

"Did she talk about what happened on Elysium?"

Garrus recalled the horrifying story of the batarian and he shuddered at the memory. "Yes, she told me some things."

"Then you did help her." Frank said with conviction. "Talking about shit helps, swallowing and keeping it all inside is bad." The, by now, familiar shadow of his own pain passed over his face as he looked at Garrus. "Okay, I'll let you get back to your woman."

"I gave her some space for now. I'll be here when she wakes up." He said to Frank and he didn't miss the slight trace of confusion or worry going over his face. But Frank didn't say anything and he decided to ask him about it later.

Garrus had another thing on his mind, "Can you cover for me at C-Sec? I'd like to have one or two days just for me and Shepard if possible."

"Sure, but then you have to finally write the report about the lady who thought the martial arts tournament was porn." Frank grinned wide.

Garrus nodded, "Alright, it's a deal monkeyman, thanks. I'll talk to you later." He ended the call with a nod towards Frank.

After taking another bite from the fake _kalkenda_ sandwich, he contemplated his future actions. He would not go back into the room where Shepard was sleeping. Not only because he could hardly control himself and his desires around her, but also he didn't want to crowd her, he had to give her space, especially while she slept. No one liked an encroaching turian.

In the end his body decided for him, his plates loosened and his erection still throbbing, he put his visor on the table and went to take a shower. After the first gush of water he turned it down to a slow warm trickle that gently dripped down the plates on his back. It almost felt like someone was touching him softly between his plates, caressing the skin, and it was very easy to imagine Shepard's fingers doing it. He took his length in his hand and put his other arm against the wall to lean his forehead against it. The pressure on his forehead plates was very pleasurable and even though he was alone he felt himself releasing some scent through the glands there. Slowly he stroked himself, thinking about the woman in the room next to this one. His fingers moved slowly over his penis and he started to increase the pressure as he thought about her and how she had kissed him. The memory made him moan. He imagined her fingers working on his penis and he rubbed himself faster.

Suddenly those very hands that he had been thinking about appeared in his vision and joined his in a solid grip around his hard penis. He froze. Shepard was behind him in the shower, naked skin pressed against his back. Her arms encircled his waist and that touch alone on his sensitive waist almost made him whimper. The thumb on one of her hands was rubbing a soft circle on his tip and he shuddered involuntarily. He didn't dare to move at all.

"Shepard, what are you doing?" He asked her with an embarrassingly hoarse voice.

He felt her lips move against the plates on his back. "I woke up and you weren't there. I went looking for you and when I found you here... I was watching you... you're so sexy... I thought I could help you with that..." She was still rubbing little circles, going over the slit on his tip once in awhile. Every time she did that, a shudder went through him.

"You were watching me? Weren't you... I mean, you liked seeing that?" Garrus had a hard time forming full sentences but he needed an answer. He considered masturbation a private act that no one would like to watch.

He heard her chuckle, "Really? Turians too? I thought that was a human thing. Every guy loves watching a woman pleasure herself but if a woman wants to watch a man do the same, they think it's disgusting." Garrus's imagination provided him with excellent pictures of Shepard pleasuring herself. He moaned.

He felt her kissing his backplates and licking between them. The feeling was intense and he almost came just from that. His shudder made her giggle. "Maybe I can learn something, what you like, how fast, how strong..." One hand still busy with those maddening circles she put the other hand on top of his that was still frozen around his length. "Lead the way, show me what you like." She whispered and he had to smile.

"It won't take long, that I can promise," he mumbled and slowly began stroking again. Her hand followed his and the oh so nimble fingers of her other hand found some knot on the underside of his penis to rub that made him weak in his kees. After a short time he faltered in his movements and she completely took over. He pressed both his hands against the wall next to his forehead. Garrus began feeling that familiar pressure building up in his abdomen and he knew it wouldn't take long now. Her hands had him in a firm grip and she followed every order of "harder - faster" he made. With a loud groan he came, a wave of tension running through him and his seed splashed against the wall.

There was definitely not enough air in the shower stall, he was practically wheezing. Her soft skin left his backside and he wanted to tell her to come back but he knew that wouldn't be right. He pushed himself off the wall but suddenly she was back at his side, leaning against him and began washing him with a washcloth. She turned the trickling water on stronger and after having cleaned his abdomen, moved in front of him and used another cloth to wash his upper body. Garrus stared down at her, not daring to move. Not since he had been a little child had anybody washed him, and it felt so incredibly intimate, so loving. He was not used to this closeness, this intimacy after anything like this _Spirits in greatness_ handjob.

Shepard slowly moved the washcloth over his cowl and then raised her face to him, smiling at him. His heart, yes, his heart, wanted to jump out of his chest. He didn't dare to touch her, afraid she would shatter like a mirage. She looked at him and he could see the confusion in her face.

"What's the matter Garrus?"

He didn't quite know, but he felt that there was some kind of cultural difference at work here. "I... thank you, Shepard."

"It was my pleasure, big guy." She said with a smile. "Why are you so nervous now?"

"You are so close..."

"Turians are not much for cuddling, I guess?" She asked with confusion but she wasn't hurt, just curious.

Something clicked. Maybe she didn't feel like he was pressuring her, maybe she liked it if he kept holding her longer. Longer than he would hold a turian woman. Humans loved touching, he had read that but he had never connected it to this situation. He had left her alone in that room because he had just assumed that was the right thing to do. He loved holding her and maybe that was good, maybe she liked it if he stayed close to her.

"Shepard, I have to ask... is it okay if I hold you?"

She threw her head back in laughter, "Of course it's okay, why wouldn't I like that?"

Garrus sighed in relief, "In my culture it is considered very impolite to crowd someone. To enforce contact..."

"You're not enforcing anything if you touch me. At least not as long as I don't tell you to stop." She said seriously.

Garrus nodded, "Yes, telling, talking, that's we need to do, I guess. Not like I have anything else on my mind right now." He waved vaguely in the direction of his genital plates, "Why did you do this? You didn't have to, you didn't owe me..."

The water was still running down over them, he noticed that the skin on her fingertips formed little wrinkles.

Shepard took his hands in hers and looked seriously into his eyes. "Because I wanted to. Trust me, I will never do anything that I don't want to do. I didn't feel like I owed you but I wanted to make you feel good."

She let go of his hands and wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands stroking under his fringe. "I'm sure when I'm ready for it, you will make me feel good as well."

He chuckled, "Sure, I have a reputation to uphold here!" Her hand stroking him made him shiver.

She pulled his head down and kissed him. He eagerly opened his mouth to her tongue, craving this special touch that felt so intimate, so very much their own. He whispered into her mouth, "I promise, I promise to always take care of you." He froze for a second, that had sounded very much like a mating promise. The voice of his father was screaming in the back of his mind. He shut it up by pressing his forehead against hers.

He didn't know if she knew what that meant.

* * *

The light on the Presidium had changed into a warm glow, simulating a late afternoon as they sat down at table from one of the outdoor cafès. They both had ordered some kind of fruity drink and Shepard's had come with a whole assortment of fruits and straws and a little paper umbrella. Garrus had never seen such a gaudy decorated drink in his life. Shepard was happily picking the fruit pieces off the rim of the glass and she had a dreamy look on her face whenever she chewed one.

"That's the one thing I really miss, living on spacestations and spaceships - real fruit. Nothing can compare to real melon or oranges." She hummed contentedly, her eyes closed and she licked the juices from the last piece off her fingers. Garrus was slightly embarrassed by that. To him this looked very erotic and should not be done in public. He noticed the turian server staring at her and he knew he wasn't the only one thinking that way.

She opened her eyes and noticed him and the server staring at her. "What?" She asked.

"That looked... like something you shouldn't be doing in public." Garrus said with an embarrassed trill.

She looked from one turian to the other and suddenly shut her mouth with a snap. As she wiped her mouth with a napkin she leaned over to Garrus. "This licking, with my tongue? You mean I shouldn't be doing that?"

Garrus felt uncomfortable talking about these things but he realized that there were probably thousands of these that meant something in one culture. They had to talk about it if they wanted to understand each other. "Tongues and licking are very erotic for turians. It's our kissing, I guess? Personally I would want you to do this all the time but I'd rather be alone with you then."

"Oh." Her skin was now noticeably pinker than before. "Well, I guess then we leave popsicles and lollipops for a more private setting." She winked at him.

"Popsicles and lollipops?" Garrus started an Extranet search for that and it returned that it was some kind of candy.

Shepard grinned at him, "You'll see, Garrus, oh you'll see!" She grinned even more. Garrus wasn't sure if he should be excited or scared.

She took another sip from her drink through a straw and he saw her face turn serious again. "I wanted to ask you about this thing with turians and closeness again." She said, her voice low enough that only he would hear it.

After that enjoyable shower they had not talked about this subject again and Garrus was a bit nervous that she brought it up again.

She continued. "As I understood it, turians aren't much for cuddling and you prefer to give each other space. So, you don't touch each other unless for sex?"

Garrus cringed at that, Shepard certainly didn't dance around if a straight question could do the job. He stretched his throat and a small trill left him. "Traditionally, yes, turians don't touch each other a lot, and not in public. There are certain gestures of affection, like pressing the foreheads against each other or holding the lower arms of the other. Things like caring for the others talons and markings are also very personal."

Shepard nodded, "Yeah, I can see that with the markings. But what about married couples? Are you telling me that even married..." "Bonded." "...bonded couples then, that they don't touch each other often? Don't tell me they don't even sleep in the same bed."

Garrus trilled in surprise, "No, most of them prefer their own bed, some even their own room."

Her eyes got so big that her whole forehead scrunched up to let her eyebrows rise up. "Not even in the same room? Wow. Hell, _I'm_ not even much of a cuddler and prefer to have my own blanket but I love sharing my bed, knowing that someone is there." She stared at him and he recognized something like fear on her features. "So... does that mean you don't like it? I mean cuddling, holding each other? I don't want to make you do something that you feel uncomfortable about..."

"Yeah, because lying in bed with you has turned out to be so uncomfortable for me...!" Garrus grinned at her. "Don't worry, I like it, I just have to get used to the fact that it is nothing weird. I have never been a very good turian and I can't think of anything I'd rather do right now than to hold you in my arms."

She smiled with relief and carefully placed her hand on top of his on the table, her thumb stroking the skin between his fingers. He looked around, showing their affection in public like that was not a good idea. But their hands were hidden behind a small vase with artificial flowers and nobody was looking over to them. He hummed a little relief and relaxed.

Shepard now looked at him curiously. "So, your parents, did they share a bed? Or did they have separate bedrooms?"

He looked down on their hands, recalling the house on Palaven he grew up in. "My parents had separate beds but they shared a room. But my father had a spare bed in his home-office, the study, and he always worked long. Most nights he just slept there so they sort of had separate rooms. It wasn't unusual, I know most of my friend's parents each had their own room."

"It doesn't sound very loving." Shepard said and her face showed sadness.

"Bonding out of love is an asari concept, at least for traditional turians. Turians have _praecipit collocatio_, arranged by their clan. The bond has to be beneficial for the clan, the _affectus_ between the bondmates hopefully grows afterwards." It sounded so strange to explain this to her. He had never really thought that this would concern him one day. "At least that's how it used to be, I'm sure there has always been love, maybe even bonding out of love. Young turians are different today, there's a line of books that's very popular and there was even a movie made about bondmates in love."

Shepard looked at him strangely and then suddenly guilt flashed on her face. "Oh no, I didn't realize how awkward the kiss between Sapita and Jinala must have been for them. They hardly touched each other and I was just imposing my understanding of intimacy on them... I'm such an insensitive idiot..."

Garrus couldn't help but laugh. "Relax Shepard, I'm sure they wouldn't have done it if they hadn't been into touching each other. It's different with turians who bond with asari, as asari are much more sensual. As I said, love is an asari concept for turians and they do things differently."

She cocked her head to the side, "So you think Sapita and Jinala share a bed?"

"I would assume so. We had one uncle in my extended clan who had bonded with an asari and she was touching him a lot all the time, they held hands, she stroked his mandible. I remember being fascinated by that as a child, not only this strange blue creature but also how she would always touch him." He smiled at the memory of himself back then.

"So your family accepted an asari in the family?"

"For a while, I mean they had too, they were bondmates and when he got invited she was welcomed too of course. But after he died they didn't ask her to any family events again and I think my father even disinvited her once when she arrived unannounced." There was a vague memory of his father yelling and seeing the blue woman walk off.

Shepard snorted, "That's kind of a dick move! First they act all friendly and welcome her and as soon as he dies they kick her out of the family? She loses her bondmate and they can't even be nice to her?" She looked really angry and Garrus thought how wonderful it was that she got worked up over this person's fate whom she didn't even know.

He smiled at her. "I agree. But I was just a child, I didn't know better. I hardly knew this uncle, my parents never let me talk to him and definitely not to her."

She suddenly looked very seriously at him, her eyes piercing his Spirit. "So when I heard you talk to you father, he wanted you to give up on me and find a turian woman?"

"One that he would choose, yes."

"And you told him that you wouldn't." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, I told him that I wouldn't give you up."

Her face turned deep red and with sudden fear he saw tears glitter in her eyes. "That's the most romantic... god, I never... it's like I'm living in an asari romance vid." She took his hand in both of her hands. "Thank you, Garrus. I wish I could kiss you right now."

He stared at her, "Are you crying?"

"Not like that, emotions, you know, sometimes even good ones can be so overwhelming..." She quickly wiped at her eyes with one hand. "I'm sorry I misunderstood that, back when you were talking to your father."

"It's okay now, but I'm glad that Nihlus could get that message to you, he practically seduced a human man for that." Garrus said with a relieved trill.

Shepard laughed out loud. "Really? I have to ask him how that went, he..." Her face suddenly turned ashen white and she was trembling. She stared at some spot behind his back and when Garrus turned around he saw a batarian in blue armor. When he turned back she had gotten control of her features again, her face a friendly mask but he saw her hands shaking.

He took them both in his own hands and hummed at her in a soothing tone. She gave him a weak smile. "Looks like it isn't as easy as I thought." She mumbled, "I thought I was over it but a batarian... still scares me."

"It's okay, Shepard, it's understandable." He kept on humming with his subvocals. "Why don't we go somewhere else? You remember the salarian armor salesman that had lent me that armor when we went after the child-slaver? After I had made the endorsement, he was so happy about it, he kept sending me invitations to try on new armor sets. Why don't we check out what he has?" It sounded stupid but he couldn't think of anything else.

Shepard sighed and then smiled at him again. "Well, you sure know how to show a girl a good time." They got up and he reluctantly let her hands fall from his. She smiled up to him, "Could we, maybe, just take a walk somewhere? Do you know a garden or a park on the Citadel?"

He nodded, "Yes, I know a place. Let's go." He walked close to her, as close as he could without touching her. They walked around the Presidium towards the elevators that led up to the Citadel tower, but he led her past those doors to another door behind the elevators. This door opened to a hallway with another set of doors on the other end. When they approached, the doors opened for them and revealed a garden.

The garden was cast in a reddish light and was populated with flowers from Palaven and other turian colonies. The climate was warm and dry, and a light wind was blowing. He had forgotten how much he missed the hot Palaven winds. The wind, the scents and the heat reminded him painfully of home. Home and a family that wouldn't welcome him anymore.

Garrus looked at Shepard and was happy to see the wonderment on her face. With wide eyes she took everything in, the high ceiling, the dextro-flowers. She opened her jacket, it was apparently very warm for her. She turned around and smiled at him, her brilliant smile that made his gizzard clench in happiness.

"What is this place, Garrus?" She asked, whispering.

"This is a Spirit garden. We don't have temples anymore but we believe that the Spirits need a place to go to when they want to leave. So we have beautiful gardens where they can settle." Garrus trilled slightly embarrassed, he had never given much thought to turian religion.

"Why would a Spirit want to leave?" Shepard asked, kneeling down to look closely at a yellow flower.

"A Spirit goes beyond a single person. A group, like a family or a military unit can form a Spirit between them, influencing them. Other life can have Spirits too, like trees or flowers. If a group falls apart, it is thought that the Spirit has decided to leave. That Spirit would be lost and we have these gardens to give them a home." He called on everything his mother had told him when he was a child to explain this. It had been years since he had thought about this.

She looked up to him. "Do you believe in the Spirits?"

"I'm not sure. It sounds kind of silly." He stretched his throat in embarrassment. "But if I look at us, I feel like there is something connecting us. That could be a Spirit." He couldn't suppress a nervous trill, hopefully she didn't think of him as crazy now.

"I like that, that's a beautiful way to think of it." She stood up again, took a look around and then stood up on her toes to kiss him on his mandible. "Thank you for showing me this. Can we walk around?"

"Yes, sure." He made a scan for life-signs, they were alone, so he took her hand in his. He had seen human couples do this, walking hand in hand. She smiled up to him and her thumb was stroking the skin on his hand. They walked slowly on a path that circled around the room. He tried to recall the names of the flowers and scanned the ones he couldn't remember until Shepard made him shut down his omni-tool. They came up to a big tree, Garrus wondered how old it could be and how they had gotten it on the Citadel.

Suddenly she grabbed his cowl and pushed him against the tree trunk, her hands stroking over his tunic. He lowered his head towards her and her mouth claimed his in a hungry kiss. He forgot how to breathe. As their tongues touched again, poking, stroking, his longer tongue wrapping around hers, they both moaned. They broke apart, panting.

She looked up to him, lust in her eyes. "If this is a holy place, making out might get frowned upon, don't you think? Or would it be the ultimate worship?" She grinned widely.

"If it were, it probably wouldn't include a human." He tried to make it sound like a lighthearted joke but the second the words had left his mouth he saw her expression fall. He wanted to kick himself. Her hands left him and she turned her face away from him but he knew what he would see on her face if he could.

She started walking, "I probably shouldn't even be here," she said and briskly walked back towards the door. He caught up with her with quick strides and pulled her back into his arms. She pressed her forehead against his cowl and sighed. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm a bit more emotional than usual right now. Don't worry, it will pass." She smiled up to him. "I'm very glad that you took me here, this is a beautiful place and I needed some beauty in my life right now."

They took the path back to the door, more slowly now, hand in hand. Occasionally she dropped down on one knee to look at a particular flower, to sniff at it. Garrus had heard the jokes how very bad humans sense of smell was supposed to be. ('Can't even smell another stinking human if it's standing directly behind him.') But seeing her taking in the scents of the flowers he knew that they were wrong. Maybe humans only smelled good things, beautiful things, like the red rose she had given him.

They left the garden with it's artificial red Palaven light and walked back out into the Presidium. The light here looked cold and harsh compared to the room they had just come from. As they had stepped through the second set of doors they had dropped each others hand and walked as casually side by side as they could.

The Presidium was very busy and occasionally humans walked up to Shepard and talked to her. She was now the hero of the Skyllian Blitz, people recognized her. She smiled, shook hands and posed for pictures with children, and Garrus wondered how she had learned so fast to deal with her new fame. He noticed after the fifth time that her face looked strained though. He decided that she needed a break.

Garrus stepped up beside her and said in his best official voice, "Commander, may I remind you that we need to hurry?"

She looked at him, surprised, and then quickly put up a serious face. "Thank you, Officer." Shepard turned to her fans. "I'm sorry, I have to go. Have a nice day, everybody."

They walked away with determined strides, like they were truly on their way to some official meeting. When they were out of earshot she mumbled towards him, "Thank you."

Garrus trilled his response of, "Anytime". When they were under an overwalk, momentarily protected from onlookers, he brushed his hand over her arm. "I thought you were dealing with all that remarkably well. But you looked tired now, I would like it if you would rest."

Nervousness krept up in him, he didn't want her to feel like he would order her around. "Not that you can't decide for yourself, but I thought after everything that has happened lately you could, maybe, use a break. Occasionally. Only if you want to of course. I don't want to impose..."

"Geez, Garrus, relax! You're not imposing, you are being sensible." She said with a smile, "And it looks like you know me better than I know myself. I didn't even realize how tired I am." She sighed and shortly leaned against him. "Can we buy some food and go back to your place? Hanging out on your couch and eating sounds like the best thing ever right now."

"Beaten by the couch for comfort, that's a blow to my ego." He joked and was glad to hear her laugh about it. _You know that you have found the right person if she laughs at your bad jokes._

* * *

If he thought about it really hard he might have come up with a scenario that was better than this but he couldn't think of one. Sitting on his couch, Shepard snuggled in his arm, picking at weird looking food and watching a vid - he couldn't think of anything he would rather do. At least not while wearing clothes but that could wait, he thought.

They were watching a comedy show, one that made fun of all the stereotypes. They had insanely smart salarians, overly sexual asari, squishy humans who climbed trees and stiff turians who couldn't do anything without orders. A hanar, who couldn't control his floating was bumping along the ceiling, singing a song with the refrain "This one has his tentacles in a twist, a twist, a twist!" The human was climbing over furniture, jumping to catch the hanar while the asari rubbed against the turian, trying to convince him to grab one of the tentacles. The turian stood to attention and kept asking if these were the official orders of the Hierarchy.

Shepard was laughing so hard, she fell off the couch.

Garrus was relieved to hear her laughing, he loved it. He picked her up under her arms and pulled her back up. She ended up in his lap, leaning against his chest, still giggling. He nuzzled her neck because it was right there in front of him and she smelled so good. With a sigh she leaned back and turned her head to the side giving him free access to her neck. He groaned deep in his throat. _Does she even know what this means to me?_

He licked along the elegant curve where her shoulder met her neck and scratched lightly with his teeth. He realized that the neck was more of a turian erotic zone but she seemed to enjoy it very much. Her breath hitched whenever his tongue licked behind the lobe of her ear or when his teeth scratched along her collarbone. He wanted more of her, so much more.

With a sigh he pressed his head against the back of hers, wrapping his arms around her. "You are amazing, Shepard, and I think you know how much I want you. But I don't want to pressure you to do anything you aren't ready for yet."

She leaned back against him, turning her head towards him. Her soft lips were brushing along his mandible, her strange nose bumped against the plates on his face. She twisted around so that she was sitting sideways on his lap. She looked him in the eyes, her one hand softly stroking the side of his face. "You are the most wonderful person I have ever met." She cast her eyes down, following her other hand as it stroked down his arm. "I don't even know how to say this but... no one has ever been so..." She leaned her head on his cowl, her forehead touching the skin on his throat. He felt her breath on his skin, drawing in with a hitch and when he moved his hand to her cheek he felt the wetness of silent tears.

He still didn't quite know what to do with tears but he just held her, stroking her cheek.

* * *

Garrus woke up two hours later, Shepard still huddled against him. She was breathing evenly, apparently in a deep sleep. He wondered if he could get up and carry her to his bed without waking her. He carefully let her head slide down into the crook of his elbow and picked up her legs with his other arm. She grunted a bit but kept on sleeping. Garrus got up slowly, surprised how light she was, and carefully walked over to his bedroom.

He laid her down on his bed and then contemplated whether he should undress her. She had already taken off her shoes and her jacket when they had sat down on the couch. Personally, he never liked to wear pants if not necessary, maybe it was the same for humans too? On the other hand he knew that humans were always careful to cover up their genitals, even if they didn't wear anything else on their bodies.

Finally he decided to just take them off, as she had done the last time she had slept in his bed. He carefully opened the top button and slid the pants down, desperately avoiding to look too hard at the black underwear she was wearing. Then he covered her up with a blanket and smiled when she curled herself up in it, using all of it. She wasn't kidding when she had said that she preferred to have her own blanket. He needed to find one for himself if he wanted a cover.

It was late enough to go to bed so he decided to get ready and join Shepard. He shrugged out of his clothes, put the visor on a shelf, cleaned himself and put on the sleeveless white tunic he always wore to bed. On his way to the bedroom he grabbed a spare blanket from his closet and turned off the lights. As soon as his eyes had adjusted to the darkness he carefully crawled into the bed next to this human female he had come to love being close to. He put his arm over her waist, his hand on her stomach above the thin blanket. His other arm had to go up to her head, tickling her hair on the underside.

Suddenly she moved and turned around. He saw her eyes glitter in the darkness. "There you are. I thought you had disappeared again."

He pressed his forehead against hers, "How will you ever sleep without me from now on?"

He heard her laughing quietly, "Yeah, it's going to be a problem. I will have to smuggle you in a bag wherever I go from now on." She moved forward to kiss him but suddenly stopped. "Uhm, dead beaver tongue, I should really brush my teeth."

Garrus stared at her, "A dead animal tongue? What are you talking about?"

Shepard giggled, "I'm sorry, I just meant that I have a bad taste in my mouth. That happens after a long day and we humans clean our teeth with a brush and cleaning paste before we go to bed at night. The toothpaste also cleans our whole mouth when we rinse it out with water. Do turians brush their teeth?"

"Not with a brush, we use a cleaner-nozzle, a high-pressure spray with a cleaning solution. Maybe you can use that just with water?"

She raised herself up, "That would be great, Garrus, I promise much nicer kisses afterwards." She crawled over him to get out of the bed and Garrus took hold of her waist for a second.

"I can hardly wait." He said and squeezed her waist. That didn't have the desired effect because Shepard squeaked and fell down on him, convulsing and screaming, "That tickles!" in between laughter. He was frozen in shock for a second but then he realized that she didn't look hurt and he tried that squeeze again. She almost knocked down the glass on his bedside table with her flailing arms, laughing and screaming at the same time. He grinned and filed that away for later use.

Shepard was catching her breath, still laughing, "It looks like you found my secret weakness. Are turians ticklish?" She felt in the darkness for the light switch, reminding Garrus again that humans couldn't see in the dark.

When the light had turned on he helped her out of the bed and followed her to the bathroom. "Not that I know of it. But you are welcome to try and find out. Although I have to tell you that squeezing a turians waist may lead to a very different reaction."

She looked at him with a mischievous smile. "Oh, interesting, I... holy shit, Garrus are you wearing a dress?" She stared at his tunic and he saw that she was barely holding back her laughter.

"That is a sleep-tunic! Pretty standard as turian night clothes go." He trilled annoyed, he didn't want her to laugh at him.

She snickered quietly, "I'm sorry Garrus, prejudiced human here, I'm working on it. Please don't be mad, I didn't mean to ridicule you." She brushed her hands over the fabric. "It feels nice." She looked up and winked at him. "And if you are wearing a dress then I'll have to _un_dress you!"

He spread his mandibles in a smile and she smiled back with a relieved sigh. Her hands moved to his head and her fingers began playing under his fringe. That familiar want build up in him again and his plates began to shift from her touch alone. He broke the contact with a quiet keen and showed her the cleaning nozzle. After he had filled the container with water she began spraying her teeth. It looked like she enjoyed it, and unlike he had feared she hardly made a mess with it. He was fascinated in how many ways she could move her jaw and how she could close her mouth up and fill it with water until her cheeks puffed out.

After that load of water had exploded from her mouth she dried her face and then turned back to him, a smile on her face. She had opened the buttons on her dark shirt and he took her in. Her smile, her pale skin, the dark underwear visible in the gap that her blue shirt made in the front.

After a few long minutes of just staring at each other she suddenly moved and was on him in one fluid motion. In only a few seconds she had pulled his tunic off and her own shirt had fallen to the ground next to it. Then she put her arms around his neck and with a short warning she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing it with her thighs. It felt so good, he almost lost his balance. She kissed him hungrily, her mouth soft against his plates, her tongue demanding entry. A moan rumbled up in him from his gizzard. He couldn't help himself, he grabbed her shoulders hard as their tongues connected.

Then he moved one hand under her to hold her and ran towards the bed with her, but when she licked his neck and put her teeth firmly on his skin there, he stumbled. He held her against the wall, a deep rumble leaving his chest and he pressed her closer to himself.

Her many fingers were under his fringe again and the other hand was travelling up and down his back. His own hands tried to map her body as well, his one hand under her butt, the other stroking every piece of skin he could find. Suddenly she bent her arms behind her back in a way that made him cringe and then the upper part of her underwear fell down, leaving her breasts free for him to caress. His hands were busy but he used his tongue to lick between them and around the dark bud in the center of each one. He loved hearing her moan because of that.

Shepard's hips were moving in a dance that made him feel even more aroused, his penis hard between them and he was sure that they were approaching a point of no return. "Shepard," he whispered with a loving trill, "do you really want this?"

With a sigh she pressed her lips against his mandible and whispered "Yes! I want you Garrus and I'm not afraid. Let me show you." She jumped down and wiggled out of her panties. She trailed kisses on his stomach, her hands touching his waist and suddenly her hand was on him, stroking his length. Her fingers pumped and rubbed him, and he felt his whole self reduced to this pleasure, this need to be with her. He knees were shaking and she led him down on the floor.

For a second he thought that they could have walked over to the bed but then all thought left his head and he leaned against the wall as Shepard climbed on top of him. She lowered herself down on him, slowly taking his hard length inside of her. He moved his hips against hers but she stopped him with a hand on his chest.

"Let me lead." She whispered and slowly moved her hips, gliding him inside of her. He kept still, trembling and growling in holding on to his control. Finally she had him completely sheathed and began rolling her hips and he rumbled a sexual tone for her. She reacted by moving faster and whispered, "Yes, purr for me! You're vibrating and you're voice is so sexy and... oooh... you feel so good..." Her hips were moving faster and Garrus pressed his teeth against her clavicle, feeling her pulse with his tongue.

He saw her hand move to her clitoris and he decided to help her. With the knuckle of his finger he rubbed in slow circles around her nub and occasionally brushed over it with a fingertip. She was drawing in a breath with a short scream whenever he did that and she began to move faster with her hips. He felt her inner walls contract and he rubbed her clitoris faster. Her head fell backwards, her breath came in short bursts and he heard her say "I can't lead anymore, I... oh gods..."

She bent completely backwards and Garrus feared for a second that she would break in half, surely no one could put their shoulders on the floor with her back arched away and her hip still connected to a very aroused turian. But he realized that her scream came from pleasure as her vagina contracted around his penis, making him shudder.

"Spirits, Shepard, you feel so good." He groaned as another shudder went through her.

"Jane." She said, her voice hoarse and her breath coming in gasps.

"What?" He leaned forward to look at her face but he didn't get far before his hips stopped him from bending further.

"My name is Jane, call me Jane." She raised herself on her elbows, moving her hips, rubbing against him.

"Jane..." He tried the name, still unfamiliar. "Jane... I love feeling you, Jane."

_I love you, Jane._

"And I love feeling you, Garrus. Now take me..." She smiled and moved away from him to free his legs and he scrambled to get them behind without breaking his spurs and to raise himself on his knees above her. She was leaning backwards on her elbows, her legs spread invitingly.

"What do you mean, Jane?" He asked with his mandibles wide.

She locked her hands behind his neck and pulled herself up and whispered in his ear. "Fuck me, Garrus. Take me!" She aligned her opening to his achingly hard penis and with a groan he lowered himself back into her. He had to take a harsh breath and still for a second because the sensations were just too overwhelming. Her hands under his fringe, her muscles grabbing him and somehow her toes were holding on to his legspurs. The way she arched her back and bit her lip and then looked back at him with that wonderful smile... nothing had ever been this good.

He moved slowly at first but after a few thrusts he couldn't stop himself anymore, driving into her faster and harder, looking at her face for any sign of pain. But she moved with him, scratching his backplates, licking and biting his cowl, and he went faster and deeper and she raised her legs and pressed her thighs against his waist and her fingernails were digging into his shoulders. He felt the tension built up in both of them and when she came again with a hoarse cry, pulsing, contracting, he followed her, their voices mixing and he kept moving and pushing and she was milking him from the inside and he kept spilling into her until all tension left him and he collapsed onto his side, pressing his forehead against hers.

He had no words to express what he felt and what he wanted to tell her. He just held her, stroking her back and whispered her name.

"Jane..."

"Garrus..."

There was more in those names than they could ever say with any word of their languages.

()()()

* * *

_Phew! *fan's self* - I hope that was as good for you... ahem._

_I only wanted to write a short smut chapter and now look at all this backstory creeping in._

_I wished I had come up with this "turians don't cuddle" thing earlier, then I might have mentioned it before. But this is what happens when you make things up on the fly, so let's just pretend I talked about it in Chapter 3 already, okay?_

_Just to make things clear, I don't think turian plates are razor sharp, I imagine them to be more like thick rubber and even softer in the genital region for both male and female. Evolution favors easy sex for procreation, so hurting yourself by rubbing against each other would be a disadvantage even for turians (I know that female cats might not agree about the painless sex bit, barbed penis, shudder...). But still, turians are a well protected, almost armored species so __unlike humans they didn't need to huddle up in groups for protection, they could get on alone just fine back in the old days. It's not instinctual for turians to group together closely, that's how I made up that they don't cuddle that much._

_Making up things in a make-belief world._

_And thanks to Credete who I keep stalking to edit these smutty chapters._


	15. Chapter 15

_We will get to criminal cases and shooting bad guys and crazy sentient machines at some point, I'm sure, but first - more romance and smut. So much romance, so much smut - they just don't stop._

* * *

()()()

The incessant beeping of his alarm clock woke Garrus from his sleep at the time that he usually had to get up to work. He rolled over and called up the menu with a wave to set it to "vacation time". Rolling back, he almost rolled on top of the human woman next to him, who had somehow managed to sprawl out and take up most of the bed. How a small human could take up so much space was a mystery. He shoved and pushed until she rolled over again and he settled back behind her, her butt pressing against his groin.

When she had settled again, she sighed happily and wiggled a little. That movement was enough for the lower parts of his anatomy to wake up, ready and at attention. He groaned, this was getting ridiculous. It was like he was a teenager again, horny and insatiable.

After the breathtaking sex on the floor somewhere between the bathroom and the bedroom last night, they had managed to finally get into the bed, only to have sex again. Slow and tender, Shepard - no, Jane - riding him, kissing, scratching, her fingers between them and her face almost like she was in pain the moment before she came, sighing his name. And then his face on her neck, breathing her in, feeling the blood pump directly under her skin, her soft skin with her muscles flexing under his fingers and she held his face, her hands on his mandibles when he came, seeing her smile as the blissful feeling washed over him.

They had fallen asleep afterwards and he could still smell his dried seed on her skin; and the sheets needed changing too.

He nuzzled her hair, inhaling her scent. She turned around, smiling at him. "Hey you," she said with a smile.

"Hey, Jane," he mumbled. He wanted to practise saying her name.

She turned all the way around and wrapped herself around him with now practised ease. Their blankets were still stuck between them and he pulled at them to feel her skin again. Finally he had her unwrapped, relishing the feel of her softness against him. She put her leg over him, pressing her soft core against him. He bucked his hips against her and he was just about to try and enter her soft - oh so soft - center when she suddenly flinched and turned away.

"Ouch, oh," she bit her lip and sat up to look at the insides of her thighs. Garrus looked down on them too and was shocked to see the skin on her thighs scratched and irritated. The whole area looked uneven and was shining in an angry red. Now that he really looked, he noticed red irritation and many scratches on her waist and her shoulders, some of them even bleeding. With a horrified shriek he jumped out of the bed and ran to the closet where he kept the supplies for his armor.

He grabbed a pack of medigel and returned to Shepard. She had already gotten a little tube out of her vest and put some white substance on the inflammation on her thighs. Garrus stared at her, feeling helpless.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He whispered and his subharmonics sang wildy. "I'm sorry Shepard, I didn't... I didn't know..." He turned around, humming in shame and started to leave the room.

"Stay where you are, Garrus Vakarian." Her voice was all command and he realized in this instant why people followed her orders. The turian military training ingrained in him almost made him snap to attention.

Her voice turned softer. "It's not so bad, human skin is just very sensitive. I've had irritations before." She took his hand and pulled him back to her on the bed. "Look, I've put hand-lotion on it and it's already starting to get better."

He looked down on her thighs but he couldn't really see a difference, it was still red and welted. Garrus felt bile rise up in his gizzard and he swallowed it down hard. "I can't do this to you again, I can't... "

"What? You're not going to have sex with me again?" She looked him straight in the eyes. "Garrus, look, I'm not allergic or anything, this irritation is just from friction. And we can reduce friction, we could use oil or something like that. I'm not injured, I just got some scratches. How about you put some medigel on those scratches?"

He nodded, still humming his shame. He had never thought that this could be the reason why he would lose her. Not his family exiling him, not the disapproval from other humans or turians, or just learning that they really didn't have anything in common, but the simple incompatibility of their alien bodies. He had been so stupid.

Her soft touch on his mandibles shook him out of his depressing thoughts. Her voice was deep and warm and she was humming. He recognized it, she was humming _love_, as best as she could with her human voice. She pulled his head towards hers and pressed her forehead against his. His voices left him and he didn't dare to move.

She stopped humming and whispered. "Don't run away from me, I just found you again, C-Sec-Blue."

He froze. The rush of his own blood was loud, like a storm in his ears. Memories, pictures, sighs in the darkness, the soft smell of arousal, her arousal, her voice, it all stumbled in his mind at the speed of light. _Could it be?_

The silence stretched long, and then even longer. Finally he asked: "Alliance-Red?"

She smiled and it was so bright that he felt like he had to close his eyes. "Yes, my armored turian, it's me!"

"But your hair - it's not red." Garrus said and even to him it sounded incredibly dumb.

Shepard threw her head back and laughed. "You do know that humans can dye their hair different colors? At least I hope so, human criminals would have a field day if they knew that they only had to dye their hair to be safe from recognition by C-Sec."

Garrus snorted. "We rely more on DNA-traces and voice matching to catch criminals. But, yes I know that the color can change, I don't know why I haven't thought about it."

She grabbed him roughly by his arms and looked at him with desperate eyes. "I had been looking for you, when I came back to the Citadel. I wanted to find you again but I had nothing to identify you. All I knew was blue armor and a blue visor and a long, crested fringe. Well guess what, all of C-Sec wears blue, and a visor is not uncommon either. I thought it could be you when Nihlus introduced us but I wasn't sure, I could hardly walk up to you and smell your throat. But you saw me in the light, why didn't you say something?"

He stretched his throat in embarrassment, "Back then, I had no experience with humans, you all sort of looked the same to me. I tried to remember your face but it was just gone. All I knew was your bright red hair. I looked for hair like that everywhere for a long time."

"Why did you stop?"

"Because I started looking for black with a blue streak," he said, taking her hands and stroking her wrist where he felt her pulse beat under her skin. "I have never forgotten that night, have never forgotten you. You were my first..."

"First alien?" She asked with a laugh.

"Yes, first alien but also first... the first time that it wasn't just about release. It felt like more..." He didn't know how to put it into words, how he had been looking for her like for a piece that he needed to build himself.

"We didn't even know each other, we didn't really talk. I had no idea who you were, I had never been this close to a turian before." She said with a quiet voice. "It was ridiculous, but I just couldn't get you out of my head. I read up on turians, what I could find on the Alliance networks. It was mostly about your military, structure, strategies. That knowledge really helped me when I met Nihlus, I knew how to make a turian salute. Impressed the hell out of the turians."

"I sort of did the same, I learned about humans, how they acted, what their faces mean." Garrus said. "I got really into that and learned about expressions and micro-expressions. I'm considered an expert on humans at C-Sec because I can spot when humans lie."

She raised an eyebrow at that. "Now that is a useful ability to have I must say. But how could you have missed that humans can change their appearance as well, like with hair color?"

"I don't know." He shook his head, he couldn't understand it himself. "Somehow you and your red hair were inseparably in my mind."

She folded up her legs in a way that made him cringe, but apparently this position was comfortable for her. She laid her head all the way back and was shaking out her short hair. Her nakedness was obviously not bothering her, she saw no need to cover herself up.

Shepard had a far away look on her face when she spoke. "I had it blonde, almost white for a while. And it was longer than it is now. Back in the beginning of the N program it was bright red, as red as possible. But the higher ups convinced me that I was standing out like a beacon on fire on the battlefield, so I changed it. I dyed it black but it looked so boring, so I put in the blue streak to make it look a bit more... me."

Garrus put his hand in her hair, letting it slip through his fingers. It was about half as long as his fingers, not quite long enough to wrap it around them. "You had it longer?"

She leaned into his touch. "Yes, it was quite long. But when you dye it it gets damaged after a while and it's not soft and shiny but scruffy. I could twist it in a tail and it would stay that way all day. If I keep it at this length it still looks and feels nice, and I can still dye it the way I want it. And I prefer not having an easy to grab handle on my head, I can never understand how women who get in combat situations on a regular basis can keep their hair long."

He tried to grab her hair and remembered that he had learned in combat lessons that humans felt pain when you pulled their hair. He pulled carefully and noticed how she followed his movement. It was like he could control her that way and he let go hurriedly. He didn't want to hurt her more than he had already done today.

Garrus noticed the scratches on her skin again, red marks everywhere, with dried blood on them. He opened the medigel pack and applied the gel to the scratches. Her skin changed almost instantly, the scratches didn't look quite as angry anymore. Her shoulders and her waist had the most scratches and Garrus realized that they came from his talons. He kept them short and blunt, as it was custom for turians who worked with aliens, but he had neglected his care of them recently.

He sighed, "I'm sorry I scratched you, Jane. My talons are usually blunted but I had forgotten to blunt them again in the last week."

She kissed his mandible and he felt her smile. "I didn't even notice it when it happened, you had me distracted so well." She pressed herself against him, her arms around his cowl and she kissed the side of his face. He raised his head, giving her free access to his throat without even thinking about it and he hummed happily when she kissed the skin there. He began stroking her, feeling the softness of her skin.

She was so soft, too soft.

He took hold of her by her shoulders and made her look at him. "How can you want this? My skin, my plates hurt you. I'm scratching you, I might even draw blood one day just because my teeth are so sharp. How can you possibly like that?"

She looked at him and he tried to decipher the emotions on her face. Was it fear, did she fear him? But there was strength in her gaze, a will and a mind that were not easily scared. Her voice was strong when she spoke. "Listen, I know this is not a fairytale romance. You are not going to change into a dashing blonde prince by a kiss from me. This is an interspecies romance and nobody said those are easy. But we will find a way because what we have, what we are - it's just too good. I'm not giving up if you don't."

Garrus felt like he was overflowing with emotions, too numerous to name them. He took an urgent breath and tried to find the words to tell her how he could never give her up. _I love you, Jane, I will never stop loving you._

"I... I'm not giving up." He pressed his forehead against hers and felt a small amount of his marking scent releasing. Maybe it was too early for that but he didn't care. "I missed you so much. I was so afraid when I heard about Elysium. I'm not giving up."

"I'm glad. I missed you too." Shepard said with a smile. "I actually felt kind of silly, we hardly knew each other apart from, well... sex." She grinned at him. "But I missed you like... I don't know, like I've been with you forever." Her face was deep red now and he recognized the embarrassment.

He stroked her face, still pressing against her forehead. "Don't be embarrassed, I feel the same way."

"Good." She whispered. Then she looked down on her thighs. "Now to the problem at hand. I'm afraid we have to take a little break to let my skin heal." She felt over the irritated area with her fingertips.

Garrus flinched when he looked down on the area. "How long will that hurt?"

She smiled at him. "Oh, it doesn't really hurt, it's just overly sensitive now. The lotion has already helped and if we put some medigel on it it will probably be fine in a few hours."

"And the scratches? There is blood..."

"It's just scratches, nothing bad." She was stroking his mandibles. "You worry too much. I know you turians think we squishy humans are weak but we are tougher than you think. Granted, we bruise easily but we don't let it bother us all that much."

Garrus leaned into her touch with a hum of worry vibrating through him. "Back in basic we had some Shanxi veterans talk to us about humans. One of them told us that he saw humans fall down, injured, losing half of their blood and still get up again to fight. We didn't believe him of course."

"Yeah we can endure a lot if we have to. Some scratches are not going to stop me. Have you seen the big new one on my back?" She turned around and he noticed for the first time a line of dark red scratches, taped with skin grafts going from her right shoulder diagonally to her left hip. "I took a shot to the shoulder, the crappy shields managed to protect me but the punch knocked me back two meters. I fell against a steel beam and the armor cracked and cut into the skin. Hurt like hell. That piece of shit armor didn't even have medigel dispensers so I ran around with it for two days, it got infected of course."

Garrus stared at her back. Soft, pale skin, but there were many marks on her. Scratches, scars, it was a testament to the fact that the soft skinned humans were much tougher than they looked. He had seen that before with humans he had brought in at C-Sec, fresh from a barfight, bleeding all over the floor but still up and ready to fight.

He squeezed some medigel out from the pack and put it on the scratches on her back. "Put some on the skin grafts as well please." She said. He carefully applied the substance on the edges of the grafts and he noticed that they had already started to connect to the skin. They would soon be completely healed. After he had treated her back he put medigel on the scratches on her shoulders. She held out her hand and he squeezed some medigel on it. She took care of the scratches on her waist. They worked silently together.

After he was done with her back and shoulders he turned her around again and carefully spread medigel over the red irritation on her thighs. He couldn't help himself, he let out a low rumble as he stroked her. With her legs folded up like that he could directly see her glistening folds. She was wet and he growled arousal when her scent hit his nose.

He cleaned his fingers on the sheets and then saw the little tube with lotion she had used. Putting some of the lotion on his fingers he went back to the apex of her thighs. He stroked around her labia, opening her soft lips and circled around her clitoris. Her breath hitched and she held on firmly to his cowl.

"Garrus," she whispered, "you don't have to..." Her eyes were wide, staring at him.

"But I want to..." he growled.

"Okay, then don't stop..." She said with a sigh and fell backwards on the bed.

He moved up between her legs, keeping his hand between them. He used the bud of his thumb to circle around her clitoris. He thought about using another finger to enter her but he was wary of his talons. He had scratched her up once already.

He listened for her sighs and whimpers like it was the most wonderful music. She raised her head and smiled at him. "Garrus? Can you, maybe use your tongue?"

Garrus stopped moving for a second. "Have you _seen_ my mouth? Hard plates, sharp teeth, does that sound like something you want down there?"

She giggled and fell back, her arms and legs spread wide. "Try it with your tongue if you like. I trust you, Garrus."

He felt a warmth roll over him. _Trust_. Trust was huge. She trusted him.

He moved close to her folds and sniffed. She smelled pleasantly and he dipped the tip of his tongue against her labia lips. It wasn't bad, so he took another long lick from the back all the way to the front, crossing her clitoris. She let out a moan that was downright scandalous. He licked her again and again, enjoying her taste and her moans.

"Spirits, Jane, you taste so good. I had no idea." He growled. His tongue lashed around her labia and over her nub and he licked up every bit of her. He saw her hands grabbing and tightening in the sheets. Her breath came in gasps, whimpering sounds telling him that she was close. He intensified his effort, licking up her juice and swirling around her clitoris. Suddenly her spine tensed and she arched away from the bed with a hoarse cry. He felt her orgasm, tiny drops of some fluid dripped from her and he licked them up, loving her sweet and salty taste.

With a sigh she relaxed and her fingers freed themselves from the sheets. She raised herself up on her elbows and smiled at him. He moved up to her smile like it drew him to her. He had to kiss that smile. Finally lying next to her he pressed his mouth against hers loving the feeling of her soft lips against his mouthplates. They kissed, her tongue stroking his plates, her fingers playing on his mandibles and when he opened his eyes again she was looking directly at him.

"You are perfect, do you know that?" She whispered, her voice still velvety deep. He rumbled his pleasure at hearing that, thinking of something to say.

"I've only heard handsome before but I'll add it to the list." He muttered.

She giggled and knocked his shoulder. "Cocksure little turian." With another giggle she looked down towards his groin, grinning. "Speaking of which, what do we have here?" She said and ghosted a fingertip over his erect penis pressing against her side. He groaned at the touch, he was so turned on, he could hardly think straight.

Her fingers closed around his shaft with familiar firmness and she whispered in his ear, "How about if we take a shower and take care of that in the best way that we know."

"Oh Spirits, yes please!" He groaned and almost threw her out of the bed, trying to get up as fast as possible. She laughed, deep and warm and ran after him, placing her arms around his waist and shoved him into the shower. She pressed herself against his back again, like she had done this morning. When the warm water trickled down on them she touched him with her wonderful hands, her lips and her tongue caressing the skin between his backplates and she moved her hands down, stroking, circling, and he lost himself in the sensations until the flood of pleasure overcame him.

* * *

"So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?" Shepard asked, stepping out of the bedroom and looking over to the kitchen area. Garrus was preparing himself some _cava_ while he waited for the coffee and breakfast to arrive that he had ordered for Shepard.

He looked over to her. His human girlfriend was wearing one of his white, sleeveless sleep tunics. The opening on top was too wide for her so she let it slip over one of her shoulders, making a very enticing display of her lovely collarbone that she probably wasn't aware of. When she stood, the tunic went all the way to the floor, looking indeed like a dress on her. She had taken a blue scarf from his closet and had tied it around her waist, accentuating it.

With a bit more decoration it would have looked like a dress a turian woman would wear for her bonding. He had to hold on to the kitchen counter for a second as his knees wanted to give out under him. "You look so beautiful." _Like a beautiful bondmate._

She spun around once, swirling the dress and laughing. "You better not get used to this because I almost never wear dresses." She flashed him her smile again and in combination with the dress it made his head spin. "But I can wear this when I'm with you, if you like." She winked at him.

She carelessly jumped on the couch with her knees, completely unaware of the turians near heart attack he almost had. Placing her arms on the back of the couch and resting her chin on top of her hands she looked at him seriously. "Can I stay here with you for my vacation? You don't have to hang around with me all the time, so don't worry, but if I could stay, I would pick up some clothes and my toothbrush from storage. I'm not going to bother you if you don't want it, you don't have to entertain me, you need your space and I respect that..."

He walked over to her in two long strides and bent his knee to get down on her level. "Hush, woman." He pressed his forehead against hers. "You would make me very happy if you stayed here."

She sighed in relief. Her hands went to the back of his neck, stroking the soft skin under his fringe. "I'm so glad, I like being with you." They stayed like that for a long time, her stroking his neck, him stroking her hair. When they broke apart, they were both breathing faster.

"About your plates and the friction they cause," she said, "do you have anything you could put on them to make them softer?" Her fingers were lightly touching the plates on his shoulder and his arm.

He tried to recall the contents of his medicine cupboard. "I have a salve for cracked plates but it smells kind of nasty."

She shook her head at that. "No, we don't want that. Wait," she opened her omni-tool and initiated a search. With a triumphant smile she showed him a shop-page she had found. "Look, there is a whole asari cosmetic line for asari with turian or krogan bondmates. I knew it! Asari skin may be not quite as tender as human skin but still - they have dealt with this problem before." She pointed to some ointments on the translucent screen, "See? There is one for you, 'To soften the plates of your mate,' and there is one for me, 'To reduce friction on your sensitive skin'. I'll order it right away, it'll be here in a few hours."

She threw her arms around his neck. "I told you we would find a solution." Her smile lit up the room and he kissed her with everything he could give until he ran out of air.

"I will never doubt you again, Jane." He whispered as he pressed his mandible against her cheek.

"You better not!" She exclaimed, and there was seriousness hidden under the playful jab.

* * *

Garrus looked around his apartment and started a list of things he needed to buy today, now that he knew that Shepard would stay with him. He needed levo-food, levo-beer and other beverages. Did she need special soap? He definitely needed to buy a pillow for her, she had slept under the pillowroll last night.

Shepard had left after a set of clothes for her had been delivered. She had ordered civilian clothes because she wanted to wear something other than her uniform today. She had told him that she had to have another check-up at the hospital and then had to meet Captain Anderson for an informal talk. Anderson was more like a father for her, besides her aunt that had raised her. He had always looked out for her and her career, and had probably been just as worried about her as Garrus had been.

Later she was to meet friends, the 'Badass-Girls Circle' she called them. They wanted to meet after lunch and Shepard had promised to send him a message where they were so that he could join her later.

For now he had to write that report he had promised to Frank and then do some shopping. His omni-tool showed him a message from Frank and he agreed to meet him at the markets on the Presidium.

* * *

Garrus stared at his friend in disbelief. "You're leaving C-Sec?" They had sat down for a quick snack at a little cafe on the Presidium and his friend had just broken the news to him. "Why? What are you going to do instead?" He asked, a bit louder than he had intended.

Frank leaned back in his chair and fixed on him with his eyes. "Garrus, when shit hits the fan, you have to make a decision. And that decision is your own and yours alone to make. Sarah's death..." His eyes showed the pain he felt when he mentioned her name, "It made me question everything. I'm a fucking C-Sec officer and I couldn't even protect her! What are we doing here, birdy?" He leaned forward and pointed his finger at Garrus. "You and I, we are trying to do good, but we are not getting anywhere. Criminals walk away, grinning at us, while secret organisations rise to power and nobody knows about it."

They got some annoyed looks from other patrons and Frank lowered his voice. "I'm tired of cleaning up the mess, I'm tired of seeing the aftermath of some assholes decision to let a black-ops operation go rogue in the Alliance and nobody seems to be bothered by it. You know I did some digging about Cerberus. You remember that story how a whole platoon almost got killed by Thresher Maws on Akuze? Cerberus appears in so many reports about Akuze it's not even funny anymore."

Garrus felt his frustration and knew what Frank was talking about, but was leaving C-Sec the right solution? "So you're joining the Alliance again? Or going into politics? The politics will drive you crazy either way, you know it!" Garrus couldn't quite imagine his old partner, hotheaded and foulmouthed, as a politician but he had to admit the man sitting before him wasn't really his old partner anymore. Frank Johnson had matured and he was a man with a mission now. Garrus admired that, that he had found his purpose and decided to act on it.

"No, I'm going to be a journalist." Frank said with determination. "We need real news, not that stuff that Westerlund is calling news with the xenophobic bullshit they spread. I know this one guy, he has a small news site but with great potential to tell real stories. A human woman, Emily Wong, is working for him, she has a real knack for investigative journalism. I'm going to join her and we will do some honest reporting. Getting down to the meat of the shit."

Every turian was raised to find his _consilium_, his purpose, and follow it. Garrus wasn't sure if he had found his _consilium_ yet but Frank seemed to have found his. This was something worthy of supporting his friend in.

"You know what?" Garrus said, putting his hand on Johnson's shoulder, "You are going to do the right thing, I know it and I'm not going to talk you out of it. You are my best friend and a good man, and you should do what you have to do. I know you will make this galaxy a better place."

For a second old Johnson beamed back at him with a boyish grin and then he put his hand on Garrus's shoulder as well and looked at him seriously. "Thank you my friend, that means a lot. I will aim for that and I know you will do the same. You will make a difference in this galaxy too, I know it."

They both held the pressure on each others shoulder a bit longer, and then they nodded, dropping their hands. Garrus felt slightly dizzy, so many things in his life were changing.

Frank leaned forward and then asked in a low, conspiratorial voice, "So, this Lieu... - no - Commander Shepard. What is she like?" He grinned at him and Garrus knew he was not easily getting out of this interrogation.

* * *

Garrus and Frank had parted and promised to contact each other later. Frank wanted to meet Shepard and Garrus looked forward to spend some more time with his friends. He sent a message to Nihlus to see if he was around too.

He returned home to receive and store all the deliveries of the things he had bought. His kitchen was overflowing with food packages that could easily be heated. A crate full of human alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages was taking up space on his small countertop. He had to move it into the living room area and he realized for the first time that his apartment was not really made for two people. Especially two people of different species.

As he put the new pillow on one side of his bed his omni-tool chimed with a call. He looked carefully who it was. He knew that his sister had tried to contact him once but she had ended the call when he had taken it. He wasn't sure what that meant, either she didn't want to talk to him or his father was somehow preventing her from contacting him. Both scenarios were possible.

This time it was a call from Shepard and he felt a silly dash of happiness in his gizzard at that. _Is it always going to be like this?_

Shepard's face appeared on the screen, smiling at him. "Hey, Garrus!" He spread his mandibles in a wide grin that she hopefully interpreted as what it was: The stupid grin of a turian hopelessly in love.

"Hey, Shepard."

"The girls and me are in a bar." She waved her arm around so that he got a shaky view of the inside of some bar. The camera panned over many glasses on the table and Garrus was sure that Shepard had drunk the contents of a few of them. "We sufficiently talked about you and your fabulousness and now the girls want to meet you. I'm sending you the coordinates. Don't worry, I already told them that they can only watch, they can't have you."

She suddenly moved her arm close to her mouth and by the darkness that the camera showed for a second he assumed that she had tried to send him a kiss. She giggled slightly and whispered at him. "They can't have you, only I can." Another giggle came from her before she moved the arm away from her face again. "I don't know if Nihlus is around, but maybe Frank could come as well? Not that they can compete with your fabulousness but they can take second place." She grinned sheepishly at him.

Garrus grinned back, he liked slightly drunk Shepard. "I'll take care of it, I'll be right there." He closed the call, smiling happily at himself. After sending messages to Frank and Nihlus he made his way to the coordinates that Shepard had sent him.

A short ride later he arrived at a bar on one of the wards, just off the Presidium. The room was dark but his eyes adjusted quickly. In the back of the room, in a booth partially obscured from the rest of the room, four human women were sitting on a bench around a circular table. They were laughing and drew the attention of almost everyone in the bar. Garrus noticed with a practised sweep across the room that most of the people were human, but he saw two salarians, a turian and a group of asari as well.

He made his way over to the booth and when Shepard saw him, she scrambled out of the bench. Two of the women had to get up to let her out, one had slightly darker skin than Shepard and long brown hair, the other had even darker skin and her curly black hair was cut very short. Shepard bounced over to him and pulled him over to the table by his arm.

She smiled her big smile and held his arm with both hands. "Ladies? That's him. Garrus Vakarian, C-Sec officer and soon to be ANIS investigator if people listen to me."

Three human smiles turned to him, eyes traveling up and down, unashamedly checking him out. At almost the same moment they all turned back to Shepard and gave a short nod of approval to her. Garrus felt like he had passed an important test just now.

The large, dark skinned woman with the short hair stepped over to him and grabbed his hand in a rough handshake. "Hello Garrus, very nice to meet you." She pointed with her head towards Shepard who was remarkably quiet. "This one has been raving about you for the last hour, it's good to finally put a face to the subject of her infatuation."

The other women were giggling and the third one, what humans called of oriental descent, whose hair was half black and half pink, purred. "And such a nice face he has..." The dark woman took a step back, "And those shoulders, gawd, to die for!" The woman with the long hair circled around him, looking him over, "Have you seen this waist?" She made an appreciative sound. Garrus stretched his throat. _This must be how asari strippers feel all the time._

Garrus looked down towards Shepard with slight shock, had she told her friends about them? Shepard's face was deep red and she smiled at him apologetic.

"I'm Mary by the way," the woman said with her deep voice, "and you don't have to worry, we know everything." She made a sweeping motion with her arm that encompassed all of them. "No secrets and no xenophobes in Shepard's Circle."

Finally Shepard herself spoke up. "It's not Shepard's Circle, it's the Badass-Girls Circle!" Her hands squeezed his arm.

Mary shook her head and the third woman laughed. "Look at little Miss Humble here. Like it or not, this is the Shepard Circle." They all grinned at Jane and she threw her arms up in defeat.

Shepard went to get a chair for him that would be easier for him to sit on with his spurs. Mary stepped closer to Garrus and whispered, "You watch over her because she's important. She's gonna rule the world one day, mark my words." Her eyes pinned his in seriousness. Garrus nodded towards her. Shepard was going to change the galaxy one day, of that he had no doubt.

His human girlfriend returned with a turian style chair and after he had sat down he suddenly found his lap full of her. She gave him a sloppy kiss on his mandible and then looked forward, pressing her cheek against the wet splotch.

"Come on, Hyun Su, take a picture." The asian looking woman held up her omni-tool and made a recording of them. Shepard turned her face back to him and when he had turned to her as well, she gave him a real kiss. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Mary was using her large frame to shield them from onlookers. With a relieved subharmonic rumble he let himself fall into the kiss.

They kissed till the women were making funny noises and told them to get a room. Shepard's skin was flushed red and with a sigh she let go of him and sat down on the bench next to his chair. Garrus had to take a few deep breaths to calm his gizzard down.

Hyun Su was fiddling with her omni-tool and Garrus held up his omni-tool towards her. "Could I have that recording as well?" She smiled at him, "Of course, sweetie." She transferred the files, she had made a video and turned some frames into still-pictures. There was a picture of their faces pressed against each other, grinning at the camera. Garrus thought he looked rather stupid. Another picture showed them kissing but there was one from the moment before that he liked best.

It showed them looking at each other, a smile on their faces and a look of promises in their gaze. He felt Shepard's hand on his and she said quietly "That's my favourite."

Garrus looked at her. "Yes, it's mine too." He said and got lost in her brilliant smile again.

()()()

* * *

_I think I finally outsmutted myself now, so I could actually squeeze some plot in there._

_It's impossible with these two, I need to tie them up or something, they go at each other like horny teenagers._

_You probably learned more about dyeing hair than you ever wanted to know in this chapter. That's not even going to be the worst of weird human things Garrus will learn about._

_With Garrus tongue and mouth, I have this feeling that I read lines like that somewhere so if I'm stealing from one of the many stories I read on this site I sincerely apologize. I will give credit if I find the story where the sentences came from._

_Thanks to Credete for editing and suffering through all the smut._


	16. Chapter 16

_Sorry about the sudden absence, technical problems and all that._

_Thank you all for reading and reviewing and favoriting, you are all wonderfully supportive. I'm doing my best to get the next chapter done faster for you. Thanks go to Credete again who had to fight the universe to get this chapter edited._

* * *

()()()

A whole freighter full of dead bodies. That's the kind of sight nobody wishes to see before their first _cava_. Garrus was immensely grateful for the filters in his helmet as the krogan and asari corpses around him had already begun to decay. The floor was sticky with orange and purple blood and greenish fluids, mingled and congealed to form a multi colored gel.

Other than the sick gel on the floor and the blood speckles on the walls, the ship looked pristine. Even though the dead all seemed to be mercs with plenty of battle experience, they evidently didn't fight back. They had all died by headshots, some from the back, some from the front. Even the three krogan had been killed by headshots, vicious looking wounds in their headcrests, probably from a shotgun.

Garrus stepped over the bodies of two asari and looked around the cockpit. The dead pilot still sat in the chair, slumped back at a strange angle. The ship, originating from somewhere in the Terminus, had been programmed with a course to the Citadel and had jumped out of the Widow relay, slowly drifting towards it. The panels in the cockpit were still active from the last input that had been put in. Garrus had steered the ship from the co-pilots seat to leave the pilots inputs untouched. He checked over the navigation inputs, they looked simple and professional, practically textbook like.

He sighed and programmed a drone to trace the whole ship for DNA. He didn't expect anything useful, whoever had killed the mercs was probably just another merc, a freelancer maybe. He downloaded the ships logs and anything he could find of the inner ship sensors. Then he retraced his steps towards the airlock and advised the forensic crew to take pictures and samples of everything. He received the expected muffled replies that this wasn't their first time doing their job, and he spread his mandibles in a grin, forgetting for a second that they couldn't see it under his helmet. He made a short laughing sound instead.

Stepping out on the dock he released the clamps on his helmet and took it off. He breathed in the mostly clean Citadel air and made his way back to C-Sec. After checking the time he placed a call to Shepard back in his apartment. Frank had woken him early in the morning to tell him that he was on to get this ship into the docking area. Enough people had covered for him in the last two days so that when this rather unpleasant job came up, he had to do it. Without waking Shepard he had gotten up and had taken a shuttle towards the Widow relay.

The ship had jumped out of the mass relay, not answering the calls from Citadel control. No life signs had been detected. It was drifting, so someone had to board it and put it into controlled docking. That job had been given to Garrus. He had ordered the shuttle to drift alongside the freighter. After shooting an adhesive anchor over to the ship, he rappelled himself over to the airlock. It had opened without delay, meaning that the door had not been locked. The inside of the ship was pressurized and heated against the harsh coldness of space but Garrus had still decided against taking his helmet off. One look at the multicolored goo on the floor had convinced him of keeping it on.

After maneuvering the ship into the docking bay with a slightly louder bang than he had wished, he had ordered C-Sec forensics to come on board. He didn't expect much to come out of it, a fight among mercs tended to yield the expected results of one merc alive when others were not.

His call finally was answered and the screen showed him a disheveled looking Shepard who made some noise in greeting him and then buried her face back into the pillow.

"Good morning sunshine." He called out in a greeting that he had heard in an old Earth movie. He liked that expression, it was close to the many turian endearments involving the sun over Palaven. Even turians who had never been to Palaven in their life would praise their mates with the beauty of the golden sun rising over the silver mountains of Palaven. 'Sunshine' was just close enough to that picture for Garrus without entering the seriousness of turian poetry for bondmates.

Shepard was clearly not in the mood for endearments of poetry, her answering grunt sounded more like a krogan in a bad mood waking up.

"Hey, sunshine, I just wanted to tell you that I'm at C-Sec today, there's food in the kitchen for you and there is even a coffee maker. I'm sure you know how to use that one." The word 'coffee' seemed to have magical abilities as the woman actually turned her face to her omni-tool and looked at him.

"Hey, Garrus, where are you?"

"I'm at C-Sec, I have to work today. How are you feeling?" He asked, remembering that Shepard had been more than slightly drunk last night. He practically had to carry her home and she had fallen asleep as soon as her position was close to horizontal.

An indistinguishable sound came from her and some words that his translator didn't attempt to make sense of. She raised herself up on her elbows and brought her arm with the omni-tool in front of her. That way she was looking down at him and her scruffy hair fell forward to frame her face. His talons were itching to comb through them. Finally she smiled a little at him but then scrunched up her face in pain. "Ugh, headache," she said, her voice rough.

"There are pills on the table." Garrus said and he saw her searching for them.

She gave him a little smile again. "Pills against headaches and coffee - you are an angel." She sat up to take some of the pills and drank all the water he had put on the table for her. "When are you coming back, my angel?" She asked, now looking much more lively.

Garrus sent her his shift calendar for the coming week. He was aching - _aching_ - to go to her right now, to kiss her smile and trail his fingers along her soft waist. But he actually had to show some effort at work this week to at least hit the average for this month. "I'll call you again later this afternoon and I'll see you tonight after my shift is done."

"I would like to do some workout today, maybe we could meet at a fitness center?" Shepard asked, her face disappearing for a second as she stretched. His perspective shifted and he found himself looking down on her almost naked form as she stretched out her arms. He groaned slightly.

"I usually work out at C-Sec's center, I can bring you along. I'll call you before I'll be heading there and we will meet at C-Sec. What are you going to do with the rest of your day?" Garrus felt like he wanted to prolong the conversation, wanted to keep talking to her.

"First I'm going back to sleep. Then I'm going to slouch on the couch and read, and sleep some more. And then... I haven't decided yet." She said, falling back on her pillow and placing her arm next to her so that he could still see one of her blue eyes peeking over the pillow. "Thanks for the pillow, by the way, that was very thoughtful of you, my angel." _That smile, again._

Garrus sighed, he was still standing in the docking area and he already got funny looks from the turian dockworkers who could recognize a lovesick smile on a turian face. "I have to go now, Jane, I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, be careful." She winked at him and ended the call. Garrus breathed in, trying to calm his fast beating heart. He started walking again but urgent calls from the freighter stopped him. "Officer Vakarian! Hello, sir!" Someone from the forensic crew was waving him back. Slightly annoyed, Garrus made his way back to the ships airlock and fixed the young turian with an intense stare. "What?" He barked. The young guy with the green markings looked at him unfazed and pointed inside the ship. "Your drone, sir, it's complaining about you leaving range."

Garrus stretched his throat in embarrassment, he had never before forgotten his drone anywhere. He trilled apologetic at the young guy for barking at him like that but the young turian just shrugged his shoulders. That was a distinctly human gesture and Garrus was surprised to see a turian use it.

He checked the drones progress on his omni-tool, it had swept over 90% of the ships area for DNA. He had to wait for a few more minutes until the drone returned to him and sent the data to his omni-tool before disappearing with a pop. The automatic search algorithms on his omni-tool went to work and Garrus could finally leave the foul smelling ship for good.

Back at C-Sec he took a quick look over the preliminary results of the DNA-Scan but so far it was like he had suspected. A bunch of dead mercenaries, some with long files at C-Sec. The only unusual thing about this case was that they all had died from very precise headshots. It looked more like a professional execution than a fight among mercs.

Garrus let the software churn away at the data and worked his way through the reports he had to write. As his father had always said, an arrest is nothing without the data trail binding in tight. Back in the beginning of Garrus's days at C-Sec, when his father was still a leading officer, his father had drilled that into him after one case had blown up in their faces. Aethius Vakarian had let a criminal named Kishpaugh go after Garrus had arrested him on shaky grounds. Kishpaugh was a criminal scumbag but evidence was hard to come by.

The resulting Vakarian shouting match in the C-Sec halls went down in the annals of C-Sec and was one of the reasons why the Executor had them never work together again. Garrus was yelling at his father that he was so covered up in his rules that he didn't even know how bad the crime situation was on the Citadel. Aethius held against it with his tried and true rule of 'do it right or don't do it at all', ignoring how much shit went down in the lower wards while he sat at his desk making data trails. His last words to his son about C-Sec was that he couldn't change the rules just because he didn't like them. They never spoke about work again after that.

Despite disagreeing with his father about the amount of data trails he had to tie together for a good case, he really did try to follow the mantra of doing it right or not doing it at all. Right now this meant mind numbing report writing, whether he liked it or not.

Two hours later Garrus was about ready to shoot the cava-maker or maybe just his cup. Something. Anything. Just to put an end to this.

He signed another datapad and sent it to the database and decided to take a break. Outside in the main hall of C-Sec where the water dispensers and cava- and coffee-makers were installed a small crowd was greeting him with friendly nods. Somehow his colleagues appeared friendlier towards him than usual. He had always been a bit of an outsider in the force. He was the only turian who had been friends with a human and had gotten some flack for it. Somehow that had changed.

Maybe it was the "All Together Festival," or something that Frank had done while he was in the hospital. Or maybe it was the attack on Elysium reminding everyone that every species faced the same problems in this galaxy. Garrus saw turians joking with humans, salarians talking agitated with asari and turians.

He made a mental note to tell Shepard about it later. _She would love that._

Only a few turians remained clustered in one area all by themselves, looking suspiciously at the C-Sec officers from other species. _You can't make everybody happy._

Nodding another friendly greeting to an asari ex-commando and another to the turian next to her, he realized with shame that he didn't even know anybody's name. When it came to interspecies understanding he really should put in more effort than just having a human girlfriend that nobody was supposed to know about.

He was searching for Frank but couldn't find him. In the back of the room he noticed the human Katrina Peters in an argument with the salarian Berdin Lerv and made his way over to them. Both of them had been assigned as a junior-team together, an idea that Frank had had. Two rookies were teamed together and got mentored by a veteran. That way they could make valuable experiences and still be under the watch of seasoned C-Sec officers. Peters and Lerv had been assigned to Garrus but as he had been suspended and then been kind of out of it after the attack on Elysium, another colleague had taken them under his wing; Garrus felt guilty about that.

As he came closer he heard his name come up and when they saw him they both shut their mouths. The sudden silence was kind of embarrassing. Garrus looked between them with a smirk, fluttering his mandibles.

"Now what is going on and why have you been talking about me?" He asked and made his voice sound threatening with a deep thrum of his subharmonics. It had the desired effect of nervousness in the two people in front of him. Peters turned deep red and cast her eyes down, Lerv was blinking rapidly and his horns turned slightly green. He let them suffer for a bit before he changed his vocals to a more friendly tone. Lerv relaxed immediately, evidently having a good understanding of turian subharmonics. The human woman looked slightly confused but she gradually relaxed as well. Berdin Lerv had apparently decided that he would tell the whole story and in typical salarian fashion started talking right away and way too fast.

"We made a routine check down in the Zakera wards in the Factory district and we met a group of traders, checked their info, everything fine but there was one asari who looked kind of nervous..." Lerv rattled on. Garrus stopped him with a raised hand.

"Let's go into my office and you tell me everything there." He said.

Lerv looked like someone had stolen his cookies. "But I was just saying..."

Katrina Peters took his arm and pulled him along while Berdin kept on muttering about wasting time. Patience was not a salarian virtue.

When they had reached his office, Garrus sat down on his desk and motioned to Berdin that he was now ready to hear the story. The salarian spoke even faster than before like he had to make up for the lost time and Garrus turned to Katrina with a helpless look. She stopped her salarian teammate and handed Garrus a small datapad.

"The nervous asari handed us this pad when nobody was looking," Katrina explained, "and whispered that we should bring it to Vakarian. Then she went back to them." She gave him an apologetic smile, "We weren't sure if we should give it to you right away, we didn't know if it was legit, you were so busy, sir, and the name Vakarian is not exactly unknown at C-Sec. With you and your father..."

Garrus waved his hand, he didn't need to hear about his father's famousness at C-Sec. He turned the pad in his hand but nothing appeared on the screen. He looked up to the two young officers. "Next time someone has something for Vakarian, you inform me right away, okay?"

The pad suddenly sprang to life, "voice match confirmed" sounded out and writing appeared on the screen. It read, 'Help me Garrus, something is going on, maybe Red Sand or slavery. I can't leave, they'll kill me. Please help me! Don't trust anyone, they have connections at C-Sec. Dalinia'.

"Who's Dalinia?" Peters asked.

"An old friend who is not even supposed to be on the Citadel." He answered. He did not mention that she had also been a frequent sex partner for him. He turned to his young colleagues. "Tell me exactly where and how you got this datapad."

The human woman and the salarian man looked at each other and then started talking at the same time. He stopped them and then had Peters tell him first while Lerv was fidgeting beside her.

"We were doing a routine checkup on the traders in the Zakera Ward, in the lower Factory district, comparing orders and transport lists, the usual."

The salarian couldn't keep quiet anymore and took over, rapidly telling the rest of the story. "The asari had seen us and faked an accident with a cargo box. The contents, some kind of beads or beans spilled over the floor and as she was cleaning it up, she moved closer to us. Peters was crouching down to help her and the asari gave her the pad and said..."

The human woman took the conversation over again, slightly annoyed at having been interrupted. "She said, 'give this to officer Vakarian, only him, no one else,' and then some human called her back."

Garrus thought about his options. He needed to help Dalinia, that was without question but he needed a team. According to Dalinia's warning he couldn't trust other C-Sec officers but he also couldn't go alone. He looked at the two rookies in front of him and sighed. "Dalinia warned me that these guys have someone at C-Sec to help them, so I can't ask any of the other guys. Do you two have combat training?"

They both straightened and said simultaneously, "Yes, sir!" Garrus had to smile a little at their eagerness. But then his smile turned to worry, they were so young, inexperienced. Hardly the kind of backup he needed to take up arms against a bunch of Red Sand smugglers.

Berdin Lerv spoke up. "But if you can't trust anyone, why do you trust us?" Katrina Peters answered for Garrus. "Because we are hardly far enough up the foodchain to be helpful for a bunch of criminals. Bribing us would have served no purpose, we are clean by default." She said.

Garrus nodded at that, it was true. "You two go down to the armory, armor up and pick your weapons. Limit yourself to two, maybe three weapons, you don't want to clank around like you're selling cooking ware. I'll meet you down there in a few minutes. Don't talk to anybody about this case, understood?"

Two eager,"Yes, sir!"s were called out and the young man and woman disappeared. Garrus went through his options, he needed more than just two rookies without combat experience if he wanted to help Dalinia without getting killed. He called Frank, who answered after a considerable long time.

Frank had arrived in the bar late last night and Hyun Su and Luiza, the third woman in Shepard's Badass-Girls Circle, had instantly taken a liking to him. They had involved him in a complicated drinking game and when they had left, the three of them were supporting each other to not fall down. Garrus had carried Shepard on his shoulder and together with Mary, who had been surprisingly sober, made sure that Frank got to his apartment and the girls to their hotel.

Waking up now, Frank looked considerably worse than Shepard had this morning and Garrus felt a little sorry for him. But he needed his help, he needed someone he could trust.

"Good morning, monkeyman. You have to get up."

"Fuck you, birdy." Frank grumbled with his voice almost inaudible. He didn't even open his eyes.

"Seriously, I need you down in Zakera Ward in the Factory District. Dalinia is in trouble, possibly Red Sand smugglers." An urgent trill left him that made Frank flinch.

"Why don't you ask one of the guys who isn't very hungover and practically still asleep?" Frank had at least raised his head now and his eyes were open.

"I can't trust anybody, they have an inside connection."

"Ah, fuck." Frank groaned as he got up. The camera picture switched off as Frank started moving about and Garrus heard him rattle a can of pills. Hopefully he had something that would sober him up quickly. His voice still reflected many drinks and lots of singing from the previous night. "Send me the coordinates, birdy, I'll be there in twenty, I just have to grab a coffee on the way."

"Armor up and bring guns." Garrus reminded him.

"Fuck yeah," was the friendly reply before they ended the call. Garrus placed another call, he knew one more person who could help him and who he could trust.

His call was answered immediately and he was greeted with an intriguing view of a little dent on Shepard's stomach, a belly button he remembered her calling it.

"Hey, sunshine," he said, his subharmonics singing to her. The camera turned up to her smiling face, "Hey, angel, you miss me already?" She was still mostly naked and Garrus couldn't stop thinking about that belly button he had never paid attention to. He regretted that now.

He groaned quietly. "You have no idea how much. But I'm calling for a different reason. I know you're on vacation but a friend is in danger and I can't trust anybody at C-Sec. Could you help me bust a bunch of criminals? You could even use your toys, it would be nice to have someone to interrogate afterwards."

She grinned. "Now that sounds like my kind of party. Send me the coordinates, I'll throw some armor on and meet you there with my girls."

Garrus was confused, "What girls?" He asked.

Her grin got even wider. "My guns of course. The ladies are itching for a nice dance." She blinked one eye towards him and then closed the call. He took a deep breath to calm himself and shook his head to shake out all thoughts of belly buttons and a naked girlfriend who called her rifles 'girls'.

As he went down to the armory to get his weapons, his omni-tool beeped with the results of the DNA traces his drone had collected. Garrus scrolled through the list of names and numbered designations for unknowns. Nothing out of the ordinary. Down to the bottom of the list came the names with the least markers on the ship and he was about to close the list as one name jumped out at him. He almost stumbled against a doorframe as he stared at it.

**Arterius, Saren (Spectre, current location unknown)**

_Saren Arterius?_

* * *

Garrus's mind was churning the name over and over again while the skycar traveled to the Factory district. Saren Arterius. The simple case of some dead mercs had suddenly turned into a highly classified investigation because a Spectre was involved. He send a short note about the case to Pallin, this thing had just elevated itself to, 'have to tell the boss about it' level.

He noticed Katrina and Berdin looking at him, probably confused why he had been so silent the whole time. He gave them a short grin to indicate that everything was fine and turned back to his omni-tool. He rechecked the information they had from the freighter that was now sitting at the dock. All he could see was that it had come from the Terminus system, made a few stops in between, probably to discharge the drivecore and then jumped on a programmed course through the relays to the Widow-Relay by to the Citadel.

Nothing in the navigation logs indicated at what point the ship had turned into a ghost ship, carrying only decaying corpses on board. Garrus snarled in frustration and noticed how Katrina looked at him in fear. He trilled apologetic and then realized that he would have to use words with the human woman.

"Sorry, forgot that you don't have much experience with turian subharmonics. I didn't mean to scare you. I just received information for another case that had looked so simple and now isn't anymore and now I'm... frustrated. The sound you heard had nothing to do with you."

Berdin cut in in typical salarian fashion. "Yes, using subharmonics with humans can be problematic. They don't really hear them..."

Garrus smiled at that comment and interrupted him. "Wrong, they can hear it. Can even copy some sounds but of course they have only one voice box so they can't underline their speech with subharmonics."

Berdin stared at him like Garrus had just told him that the Citadel was made out of chocolate. Katrina snickered at that and then looked at Garrus again with great interest. "So the sounds have individual meanings? Why is that not commonly known?"

Garrus tried to shrug his shoulders like he had seen the turian at the docks do and noticed that Katrina seemed to immediately understand that he didn't know. That was a practical gesture, it acted like a trill of uncertainty that a turian would make.

Katrina now looked even more interested. "So humans can make the sounds too?" Now Garrus realized that he needed to be a bit more cautious with the information he was spreading. That Shepard was able to make voices that sounded like subharmonic hums might not be a common ability, he had to be careful how much he revealed about that.

"That's what I heard somewhere." He mumbled and turned back to his omni-tool. Luckily Katrina didn't pry further and Berdin was busily working on his omni-tool. Probably researching human voices and subharmonics.

The skycar came to a stop a block away from the warehouse where Katrina and Berdin had met Dalinia. Frank was already sitting on some container with his head leaned back against the wall; he seemed to be asleep. Another skycar stopped next the one where Garrus and his young colleagues were sitting in. Shepard waved over to them and he saw Katrina stare slack jawed. "That's Commander Shepard! What is she doing here?"

Garrus didn't even try to hide his smug grin. "I called her, I asked her if she could help us." Katrina and Berdin gaped at him. "You know Commander Shepard and just called her?" Berdin asked, his voice slightly higher than usual. Garrus's smug grin made his mandibles flutter.

Shepard stepped out of the car and as she made her way over to them Garrus saw her transform from Jane, his soft human girlfriend to the hardened Commander the rest of the world knew. She exuded an air of authority and strength as she strode over to them. With a nod she greeted Garrus and he knew that this was the professional side of their relationship. There would be no kisses here.

"Officer Vakarian, would you explain the situation please." She said, her voice friendly but confident. Garrus fluttered his mandibles once at her and he saw from the tiny tug at the corner of her mouth that she noticed.

"In a moment, Commander," Garrus answered and walked over to Frank, who was still asleep on the container. Somehow he had managed to fall asleep without spilling the coffee from the cup in his hand. "Hey, monkey, wake up!" Garrus called out to him and to Frank's credit he woke up right away, still not spilling his coffee. He took one look around and as his eyes fell on Shepard, he visibly relaxed.

"Ah, come on, birdy, " he said, yawning and stretching, "what do you need me for if you have Commander Shepard with you? You could have let me sleep."

"Well, I couldn't do it without your unique brand of happiness that you bring into my day." Garrus said with a grin. He collected his small troop around himself and projected a map of the building from his omni-tool.

"The building has two entrances. The back entrance is small and two of us should be able to cover it. I suggest Frank and either Katrina or Berdin take that side. The rest of us take out the guards in front and enter the building from there." He looked around and saw everyone nodding.

He brought up a picture of Dalinia next to the map of the building. "We are looking for an asari named Dalinia, a friend of mine." Garrus saw that Frank threw him a meaningful look and that Shepard noticed it. She didn't say anything but there would be questions later, of that he was sure. "We don't know how many people are in there or how many of them are hostile."

Shepard spoke up. "Will you talk to them first or do we go in shooting?" She clearly considered this to be his show and let him be in command. He was grateful for that.

"Let's try normal C-Sec procedure first, we don't have a warrant but there could be someone in immediate danger so that gives us an entry. Let's see how they react to that. Our priority is to get Dalinia out but I would also like a search of the place. Dalinia suspects Red Sand so we keep our helmets on and let our omni-tools search for the stuff. Everybody clear?"

The two young recruits answered with an enthusiastic, "Yes, sir!" while Shepard and Frank just nodded. He fixed Berdin and Katrina with a look. "You two stay in cover, is that clear? This isn't combat training, this thing can go sideways in a second and I don't want to have to worry about you two! Understood?" The answer was a notably less enthusiastic, "Yes, sir" from the kids.

Frank took Berdin with him around the back and Garrus walked with Katrina and Shepard toward the front door. Two guards raised their weapons and Garrus saw from the corner of his eye that Shepard raised a heavy pistol that looked so heavily modded that it looked more like a machinegun. He noticed Katrina behind her fumble with her pistol and he got a very bad feeling about this situation.

"Katrina, fall back. Stay behind cover and look for anyone coming up behind us." For a moment it looked like she wanted to object but then she nodded and hid behind a container.

Garrus stepped forward to one of the guards and projected his badge. "Vakarian, C-Sec. We have received a distress call from this building that we have to investigate. Where is your boss? We would like to..." The guard opposite Shepard suddenly raised his gun and started shooting. At least he tried to shoot before he fell down, clutching his shoulder, his gun clattering to the ground. The other guard met the same fate before Garrus even had his gun trained on him.

He stared at Shepard for a second, she shot faster than anybody he had ever met. She grinned at him and said, "I'm sorry, I forgot to ask, are we going for injured or dead?" The grin on her face had a deadly tinge to it.

"Let's go for injured for now but if they overwhelm us we have to go for killshots." Garrus replied, settling beside the door frame to peer inside. Shepard positioned herself on the other side and with a nod they both moved in.

The attack was immediate and brutal, shots whizzing around them and they both dove to the side behind cover. Shepard had taken her sniper rifle from her back, peered down the scope, and shot shoulders and arms into pieces. Another wave of humans stormed in from the other side, all of them armored and armed with shotguns. Shepard looked over to him and Garrus nodded at the question that she didn't need to ask. "Yes, I think we go for killshots now."

"Understood, Vakarian." She shifted her aim and the attackers began dropping down with holes in their foreheads. Garrus had a hard time keeping up with her. After a few minutes the attackers finally realized that they needed a better position and took cover behind some crates.

Their comm units came alive with Frank muttering in their ears. "Guys, we're coming in, cleaning up from behind. Don't shoot at us."

"Understood, Frank." Garrus answered and contacted Katrina outside, "Katrina, how's it looking?" A confident voice came back. "I have made three arrests and the SWAT team is en route. This entrance is secure." Garrus didn't hide his surprise and looked over to Shepard who chuckled quietly, "I like that girl."

Garrus shook his head, "Human women are full of surprises, I guess." Shepard looked over to him and he could almost make out her smile behind her helmet. A shot hit her cover a bit too close to her head, speckling dust and shrapnel against her helmet.

"Permission to go in and kick some ass?" She asked with an angry snarl. He hesitated for a second, could he really send her into the middle of the fight? But he knew that she was Commander Shepard right now, not his mate that he needed to protect.

"Permission definitely granted." He said, trying to sound more sure of it than he was. She grinned and jumped over the container and ran into the cover where the other humans were hiding behind. Garrus's heart almost stopped. She still had her sniper rifle raised and used it for close-range shots without really aiming. He flinched at that, this was certainly not how his father had taught him to use the sniper rifle.

When she came closer, she switched to her vicious looking pistol and he saw a blade extrude out of her armor. With a battle cry she jumped into the middle of the fight and carved her way through the room. Garrus picked off any of the enemies that came up behind her back as she shot and stabbed her way over to a set of doors. She was like a deadly whirlwind among them, jumping and sliding from cover to cover and rushing into groups, decimating them with her knife and her pistol. He couldn't stop a growl building up in him, just watching her made his plates shift.

The last five humans soon realized the futility of their positions and raised their hands in surrender.

It was suddenly eerily quiet in the warehouse. Footsteps approaching a door had them aim their weapons again until they heard Frank calling them through the door. "Are you guys alright?"

"Yes, we're fine. The room is secured." Garrus called out and lowered his rifle. Frank and Berdin stepped inside and put handcuffs on the remaining humans. Garrus checked his omni-tool, it showed no sign of Red Sand in the air so he decided to take his helmet off. Shepard did the same and stepped around the dead and injured, checking everyone over. She raised her head towards Garrus.

"I don't see any asari." She called out to him.

Loud banging and calls for help drew their attention towards another door on the side. Garrus and Shepard positioned themselves on either side of it. Shepard overloaded the lock with a blast from her omni-tool before Garrus could even begin hacking it. He looked at her annoyed and she whispered, "Sorry" through the comm unit and smiled at him. Her hair was sticking out and blood dripped off her armor. Garrus couldn't take his eyes off her. His deadly warrioress, he wanted to shove her against the next wall and bite through her armor, among other things.

The door slid to the side and Garrus pointed his rifle inside. "Everybody, come out now!" He called into the room. Slowly, one by one, six asari came out of the room dressed in typical asari dance dresses. At last Dalinia came out and Garrus sighed in relief. She recognized him right away and with a happy squee jumped up on him and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

Shepard stared at them, one eyebrow cocked up. Garrus groaned in embarrassment but Dalinia apparently took that in a completely different way. She pressed her cheek against his face, shrieking, "Thank you, thank you for saving me!" over and over again.

Shepard looked at them without any emotion showing on her face. He was keenly aware that this woman was dangerous and probably not amused.

Garrus carefully pried Dalinia's hands and legs off him and lowered her back to the floor. Dalinia stilled, noticing his unusual behaviour.

"What's wrong, Garrus? Aren't you happy to see me?" She looked at him confused.

He sighed, "Dalinia, I'm glad to see that you are well but..." He didn't know what to say.

She still looked confused but then suddenly she smiled again. Moving closer to him she whispered, "I see, you want to keep it a secret, don't worry, I'll show you my gratefulness later on." She stroked over the codpiece of his armor and Shepard noticed it. And she also noticed Dalinia's hand gently scratching under his fringe, making him shudder for a second. Shepard's lips were pressed together in a thin line as she watched every movement that the asari made.

He took her wrists in his hand a bit more roughly than he should have and spoke to her hurriedly, "Dalinia, that's not going to happen, I'm with someone. I'm glad you're okay but we won't be meeting... ahem... like _that_ again."

Dalinia stared at him in surprise. "I see. Are you sure?" She lowered her arms, but cocked her head with a flirty smile.

Shepard stepped up to them and turned to Dalinia with a very friendly smile on her face. "Why don't you go outside to make a report with officer Katrina Peters. We would like to know everything about this operation here." Shepard still smiled. It was the kind of smile that made the room a few degrees colder.

Dalinia looked her in the eyes and opened her mouth to say something. Shepard just kept looking at her, the smile slowly fading from her face. Any protest that the asari wanted to voice suddenly seemed to die and Dalinia, who had served drinks to drunk krogan without even flinching, suddenly shrunk back from the human woman. She nodded and turned away without another word.

Garrus looked at Shepard whose eyes followed the asari until she had stepped through the front door. With a jerk of her head she turned back to Garrus. "So... we were busting out your old girlfriend?"

Garrus stretched his throat and hummed insecurely. Shepard was mad, that he could see but he didn't know how he was supposed to deal with it.

"She wasn't exactly my girlfriend. We are friends and sometimes we would have sex... It didn't mean all that much." He glanced over to her as she stood next to him, not looking at him anymore.

"Friends with benefits, I see" Shepard mumbled. Her fists were opening and closing at her side. She looked like she was about to explode.

"Shepard, what's wrong?" He asked to get her to look at him again.

She did and her eyes were like fire. "What's wrong? Come on Garrus, you're the expert on human expressions, don't tell me you don't know what jealousy looks like!"

He put his hand on her armored shoulder. "Shepard... Jane, you have nothing to worry about, that was all in the past, you have no reason to be jealous."

She looked at him again and he saw with relief that some of the fury had left her gaze. "Reason? Who said anything about reasonable?" She threw up her arms. "Garrus, I know I shouldn't be jealous, I know we both didn't enter this relationship as virgins but... I can't help it." She raised herself on her tiptoes to whisper close to his ear. "If I ever see her touching you like that again, I will rip the tentacles off her head and stuff them into her fucking face!" An angry grumble left her throat and she turned around and stomped off.

Garrus needed a minute until he had the stupid grin on his face under control again.

()()()

* * *

_Look at that, I can write a chapter without sex!_

_The freighter story arc is based on a story that Wrex is telling in the game when Shepard talks to him on the Normandy. He mentions that he had met Saren once before when he was recruiting Mercs. It is never revealed why Saren was hiring mercs and what he was looking for, so I developed some story for that. Obviously we are not done with it yet. I am scrunching the timeline a bit, things are happening a lot closer together than in the original timeline. _

_That hidden blade extruding from Shepard's armor? Yes, totally stole that from Assassins Creed. If Leonardo could design that for Ezio, Shepard should have something like that too._

_In other news, I say data trail and datawork on purpose because there is NO PAPER in the future! Paper is based on papyrus leafs that the egyptians dried to write upon. Other species would have come up with something completely different, flat ironed jellyfish tentacles maybe. So, no paper trail, paperwork and all that. The future is all about data._

_Read you later!_


	17. Chapter 17

_Welcome to the crime-show! _

_Thanks to Credete for editing._

* * *

()()()

The minute Garrus and his little troop had entered the C-Sec halls, he received three urgent messages from Pallin to come see him immediately. The first message had ordered him to come and the next two messages came in quick succession, asking why he wasn't there already. Garrus left the processing of the arrested to Frank and hurried over to Pallin's office. Shepard raised an eyebrow in question as he ran past her and he trilled an apology to her.

Pallin's door was open and when he saw Garrus step in he closed it with an order through his omni-tool. That was unusual. His boss fixed him with a firm stare but he didn't show the familiar scowl of anger that Garrus had seen so often before.

"Vakarian. I received your report about the Katanga." Pallin said, looking down on a datapad with a scowl in his subharmonics.

Garrus was momentarily confused until he remembered that Katanga was the name of the ship full of dead mercs that he had to drive into dock this morning. "Yes, sir, I realize that the DNA-traces we found on board from Spectre Arterius have complicated this case."

"That is very true. Spectres, always trouble." Pallin kept staring at the datapad in his hand and was thrumming deep tones of anger.

Garrus didn't know what his boss expected of him, he was used to Pallin yelling at him in anger because of something he did or didn't do. But this anger seemed to not be directed at him, and he didn't know how to deal with that. "Sir?" He asked to remind Pallin that he was still there.

His boss finally looked up and glared at him intently. "Vakarian, I have removed you from all other cases. I want you to investigate Spectre Saren Arterius, find out everything about him."

Garrus trilled his surprise and wanted to say something but Pallin stopped him and kept on speaking. "I know that all information about Spectres is classified but you won't work under C-Sec authority on this. This investigation is under Council Intelligence control, and you will be working with this new organisation, ANIS. So far ANIS is a human organization but they went out of their way to make it not human centric. The group you will be working with is under the lead of a turian, Jentarius Keggs, high tiered in the military and a former C-Sec investigator. The Council has agreed to take this group under Council authority as a test, with a possibility of becoming a Council investigative service one day."

Pallin looked at Garrus and pointed a talon at the datapad. "This looks suspicious and you know that C-Sec will only run into walls investigating this because a Spectre is involved. I always despised Spectres, they are uncontrollable, power hungry. A team of investigators would be much better, for once the humans seem to have a good idea there. Humans, who would have thought..." Pallin was shaking his head while his subharmonics sang along.

Garrus had to hold his mandibles tight to suppress a grin. If only his boss knew that he had said almost exactly the same things Shepard had not too long ago. He felt giddy with excitement, it was really happening. Investigating a Spectre, no one had ever done that. It took him a second to notice that Pallin was still talking.

"You will be working with Commander Shepard, since you are friends that shouldn't be a problem I assume?" Pallin asked with a questioning trill. Garrus answered with a short trill, assuring his assumption. "Good," Pallin said and signed a datapad before handing it over to Garrus. "You will be under the command of Jentarius Keggs, report to him this afternoon and he will have your orders."

He leaned forward and looked into Garrus's eyes, his mandibles tight. "Don't screw this up, Vakarian. You are representing C-Sec and the turians on this. We could make the Spectres redundant, build up a true Council force. This is big, Vakarian."

Garrus straightened his back and clasped his hands behind his back. He almost wanted to salute but decided against it, this was still C-Sec, not the military. "I will do my best, sir, don't worry."

A deep tone of amusement and satisfaction left Pallin and he opened the door behind Garrus. With a wave of his hand he sent him off, only to call him back when Garrus was at the door. "I'd like a progress report now and then, Vakarian. Don't forget where you came from."

Garrus nodded. "I won't forget sir." He sang his greetings and left the office.

Looking around the main hall he only saw Berdin and Katrina, surrounded by a group of young recruits. They were staring in awe, listening to the tales that the human and the salarian told. Garrus had to smile, not many young recruits could tell stories of being part of such a big operation. He couldn't see Shepard anywhere and opened his omni-tool to send her a message.

'Where are you? -Garrus'

Her answer came immediately. 'Armory, changing room, cleaning up. -Shep'

A deep growl rolled through him. She was cleaning up and his imagination was painting a very enticing picture of that. As fast as he could without running like a lovesick pyjack, he walked to the elevator and made his way to the changing rooms.

Unfortunately, as he stepped out of the elevator, he noticed that the whole area was quite busy. No chance for a quiet get together for them. He stepped into the changing room, nodding to the other people there. A faint whiff of her smell on his left side directed him around the corner behind a row of lockers. There on a bench she sat, still in her underarmor, roughly wiping the gunk from the pieces of her armor.

She raised her head towards him, smiling and almost making his heart stop with such a simple action. Her hair was sticking out in every direction, she smelled salty of human sweat and the blood of other people. She looked so sexy, it hurt.

He was aware of other people looking at them, turians, humans, asari and he suppressed his possessive growl with all his might. Shepard acted like nothing happened and wiped at a scrape in her breastplate. She looked up and wore her perfect Commander Shepard face. Pointing at the scratch she asked, "Officer Vakarian, is there a workbench around here where I could fix that?"

Garrus trilled quietly at that. _Clever, Shepard._

"Yes, Commander, follow me please." He turned around and heard her walking after him out of the locker room and around the corner into the next room. It was barely more than a storage room with a small workbench, accompanied by materials and utensils to fix armor and weapons. It was hardly ever used, the armory had it's own work area and experts to fix weapons and armour. This small room was only for quick fixes in a pinch.

They stepped inside and Shepard put the pieces of her armor on the workbench. She turned around and they stood there, staring at each other, not daring to breathe. As soon as the door had closed behind them they hurriedly closed the gap between them.

_Spirits, this is so wrong. And so right._

Hands were grabbing armour and fabric, lips crashed against mouthplates, fingernails and talons were scratching skin and they tasted each others breath as their tongues touched and wrapped around each other. Garrus growled and Shepard made almost the same sound as they kissed. She pressed herself against him, one leg wrapped around him above his hip and even though he couldn't feel her touch through his armor, he felt how she pressed herself as close as possible to him. They broke the kiss, panting. Shepard began to snap off his lower armor. Her underarmor was already all the way open in front and Garrus didn't even know when that had happened.

He trilled in frustration and with every bit of self-control he could call upon he grabbed her wrists so that she couldn't continue on his armor. "Shepard, we can't." He pressed his forehead against her and breathed her in.

She pressed back and he wondered if his plates hurt her. But if so, she obviously didn't care. She changed the angle so that her mouth pressed against his mandible and he shuddered at the feeling of her soft lips against it. Her lips moved as she whispered. "Why not, Garrus? I know I smell bad but..."

"Spirits, Jane, that's definitely not the problem. Do you have any idea how sexy you are?" He was breathing hard, still holding her wrists down to her sides.

She was standing very still, only her lips moving against his mandible. "Then why are you not inside of me right now?" She whispered in her deep and husky voice. His growl filled the tiny room with the sound of desire.

He took a deep breath. "Professional, remember?" Garrus slowly let go of her wrists and took a small step backwards. "Jane, if we have sex now, every single turian, krogan and probably even asari will smell you on me, and me on you."

She closed the gap again. "So? We spend time with each other, it shouldn't be surprising that we have some scent from the other."

"No, my sunshine, we would smell of sex and everyone would know it." He took another deep breath to calm himself down but it only filled his head with her scent and the smell of arousal that came from her. His lower armour was getting very uncomfortable.

"Oh fuck, damnit! Seriously?" Shepard took a step back and sat down on the surface of the workbench. She rubbed her thighs together and sighed in frustration. "Fuck the fucking fuckshit, I'm so hot for you right now. Maybe I'm a bit of a pervert but seeing you with your rifle, so graceful and deadly..." Her hand was sneaking up under his fringe, stroking as she spoke, "...that really turned me on."

When he spoke up himself, his voice was layered with deep thrums of desire. "Looks like we're perverts together then. Seeing you fight, wild and deadly, you... Spirits, you have no idea what you do to me." He struggled with the words but his subharmonics sang clearly of wild, untamed passion as he pressed against her hand on his neck.

She pulled his head down towards her and kissed him. This time it was tender, soft little nibbles along his plates, her tongue carefully wandering along his teeth. His tongue found hers and softly they caressed and tangled around each other. Her hand kept on massaging his neck and his fingers combed through her hair. They kept their bodies distanced, not touching except for their hands and faces. It was like they had to keep up a spell that would be broken if they moved closer to each other.

With a slight pop her lips left his mouth and they kept still in silence with their foreheads touching, each keeping a hand on the others neck until their breathing had quieted down. At last Shepard whispered, as if she was afraid to break the spell.

"Here's what we will do: I'll clean this armor here, and since I don't have any spare underarmor around, I'm going home... I mean... to your place, to take a shower and put on some fresh clothes. You will have to take a shower here, far away from me because I can't guarantee that I won't ravish you in the shower otherwise." She looked up and grinned at him.

_She called it home._

Garrus hummed a low tone, trying to calm himself and her with it. "Alright, I... I'll see you tonight then I guess. You better not have any other plans because I'm going to need you to..."

She giggled and put her hand on his mandible. "Oh, I'm going to need you too. I'll be waiting for you." Her smile lit up her face and he felt his chest constrict.

_She waits for me  
__The wind will tell  
__The silver mountains  
__As the sun rays fell_

The silly rhyme from an asari-turian love song invaded his mind. _Spirits, get a hold of yourself._

Garrus stepped away from her as if she burned him, he needed to step away from these emotions before they could overwhelm him. It scared him what a hold she had on him, how much her smile drew him in. He knew that this was more, more than just sex, more than desire. He was longing for her, his mind was filled with her and he felt like he was losing himself. He couldn't imagine being without her in his life.

How could they ever work together? How was he supposed to act around her if her smile grabbed his heart in love and pulled his gizzard against his cowl? More and more he saw her as his bondmate, as his _altera dimidia_ that he would spend his life with.

This was way too early in their relationship. He could not put that kind of expectation on her, it wasn't fair to her. They just got to know each other and he was already fringe deep in feelings and dreams of their future together.

He took another step back and the cowl of his armor banged against the wall of the tiny room. Shepard looked at him with a slight scowl and Garrus silently cursed her perceptiveness. Her hand had left his face but she still held it up like she waited for him to come back to her. But he stayed back and slowly she let her hand fall down on her thigh. She was watching him critically and Garrus was hiding all his emotions by holding down his subharmonics and not looking at her.

She jumped off the workbench and stepped up to him. "Hey, big guy, are you alright?" She asked with a frown. "I'm sorry? I don't know, I don't want to pressure you, I'm not... sure what you..." She had raised her hand to touch his face but hesitated. She kept looking at him and he avoided to look into her eyes. Slowly her hand fell back down. With a deep frown on her forehead she turned around and started vigorously scrubbing at the pieces of her armor. Garrus stood behind her, feeling the gap between them widen.

This moment had taken an unexpected turn somewhere and he didn't know how to save it. He knew what his own problem was but something was bothering Jane as well. This was not the time and place to discuss the seriousness of his feelings for her. But he could not leave her like this. Her back was turned to him, her muscles tense on her neck as she sanded down the scrape on her breastplate.

He stepped up to her. "Hey, Shepard..."

"Yes, Vakarian?" Her voice sounded cold but he always had trouble hearing the emotions in human voices, he was much better with faces. "You should go, you'll draw suspicion spending so much time in here. With me." The last two words were so quiet that he almost couldn't hear them.

"Jane, please look at me."

She didn't, she kept looking down on her breastplate on the workbench. "I'm sorry Garrus, I didn't mean..." She stopped sanding and let her head hang down. "I know I've been barging into your life and making everything more complicated for you and I have no right to call your apartment home and taking up all your time..."

"Spirits, Jane, that's what you are worried about?" He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his nose in the curve between her neck and her shoulder. "I thought it was wonderful that you called my place home."

She turned her face so that she spoke against the side of his face. "You told me that turians don't like closeness and I know you guys have lots of casual relationships..."

Garrus stopped her by pulling her closer to him. _Sometimes the universe decides the time and place for you. This is the moment, whether you like it or not._

"Jane, can we please agree that there is nothing casual about us?"

He heard her draw in a sharp breath and she stayed silent for a scaringly long time. But then she said, "Okay, we are not casual. Definitely not casual." She turned around and pressed her face against his throat, her lips nibbling the soft skin there. "I was worried that I'm pestering you. The annoying, clingy girlfriend is not the part I want to be playing."

He fluttered his mandible against her face. "You can play that part with me anytime." She laughed at that and it was such a relief to hear that sound. "But you were right, I should go now." He licked at her collarbone one last time and pulled away. "I really need to take a shower."

She grinned at him. "A cold one?"

"Yes. No! What?" He was checking the seals on his armor and had not really paid attention. For a second he stared at her as she was laughing. He shook his head and turned around to leave. "I'll see you tonight at home."

Her smile warmed him deep inside. "Yes, home." She whispered and her eyes stayed on his until the door closed again, separating them.

* * *

A few hours later, after showering, finishing up his data work and a quick lunch he stood in front of a door close to the human embassy. The big letters above it said Alliance Navy Investigative Service in human writing on top and in Citadel common below it.

He straightened his back and stepped towards the door to trigger it's mechanism to open for him. The doors parted in the middle and he stepped into a huge room full of desks with data terminals, sectioned off in groups of six by moveable half-walls. Screens were placed around the outside walls, showing news from different channels from all around the galaxy.

People were either sitting at their terminals or were bustling around, and he saw many working in pairs on a terminal, bouncing ideas off each other with low voices. Most people were human but he saw many turians and a few salarians. Only one darkblue asari with dramatic red markings next to her eyes noticed him and looked threateningly at him as soon as his eyes fell on her. She was beautiful in a scary way and the look in her eyes reminded him of Shepard.

The asari turned to an older turian who addressed her with a short sentence. She answered and then pointed towards him, making the turian turn around to him. He recognized him from a picture he had seen of him with his dad, only that he hadn't known back then that his name was Jentarius Keggs. Keeping his back straight he stepped towards the older turian with the white markings. He decided against a salute and dipped his head once instead. Keggs acknowledged him with an equal dip of his head and raised his arm in a circling motion. In an instant three people stood next to them, looking at him expectantly.

"Team, this is Garrus Vakarian."

He pointed to the dangerous asari. "This is Dania Va'sida," pointing to a fidgeting salarian he said, "this is our tech expert, Terlin Mirhale, and this guy here," a tall human stepped up in front and showed his very white teeth in the biggest grin Garrus had ever seen on a human, "is Lorenzo Jorno."

Another gesture of the hand and the teammates went back to their desks. Garrus was impressed with the effectiveness of this hand communication. Keggs took something out of his desk and walked briskly towards the elevator. With a short jerk of his hand he beckoned Garrus to follow him. They stepped into the elevator and rode down in silence. Garrus looked at the older turian out of the corner of his eye. He didn't wear armor, which was unusual for a turian but his clothing seemed to be made of the same sturdy material that Shepard's vest was made of. Leave it to the squishy humans to develop clothing that even turians would consider instead of armor.

When the doors opened again he suddenly started speaking as he stepped out. Garrus hurried behind after him. "This area is for all teams, we have the forensics lab and the pathology down here." Shiny metal doors glided to the side and the familiar smells of death and disinfectant that came with a morgue hit his nose. An older human was talking to himself or maybe he was talking to the corpse in front of him while he cut and scanned the body of a salarian.

They walked over to the shiny metal table and Keggs introduced him. "Dr. Morten Webster, our pathologist, Garrus Vakarian, newest member of Shepard's team." This was the first time he actually heard him mention Shepard's name and he searched the turians face for any hint of disapproval or annoyance, but he didn't see any.

Dr. Webster held out his hand for a human handshake but then realized that he was wearing bloody gloves and pulled it back. "Now that would have been a silly mistake, wouldn't it? So, all the better for you, you get spared from my silly human gesture. Let me see, I've been practising..." He straightened his back and dipped his head down once with a jerky movement. Then he looked up again like he was looking for approval. "Was that correct? Not too low or too long?"

He looked at Garrus expectantly and he realized that the doctor wanted to have his greeting evaluated. "Yes... fine. It was correct." Garrus nodded his greeting himself and he noticed Keggs next to him grin with a slight flutter of his mandibles.

The doctor looked very pleased with himself and turned back to the salarian in front of him. While he was working he was constantly speaking. "Interestingly enough I have noticed that many turians have adopted human gestures and I have seen turians shaking hands in greeting. At the same time some humans, especially ones who came from Earth only recently, avoid skin contact for fear of transmitting diseases. Now the asari of course have an entirely different..."

"Morty!" Keggs interrupted.

"Ah, yes, of course. You came here for my analysis of the poor souls from the Katanga." He took off the gloves and picked up a datapad to thumb through.

"Nothing unusual so far. They all died of very precise headshots, which in the case of the krogans, required a big shotgun to shoot through the headcrest. The asari and salarians all died from shots from a heavy pistol. It must have happened very fast, I found no defensive injuries. Two asari and one of the salarians fired their own weapons. Everybody else didn't seem to get the opportunity to defend themselves. They were all healthy, well fed and showed the normal wear and tear that you would expect from a merc."

He put down the datapad and looked up to Jentarius Keggs. "For further information you have to ask Pauline." With a nod towards Garrus that he reciprocated, he walked back to the table with the open torso. As they walked out of the morgue Garrus again heard him talking quietly to the corpse.

Outside in the hall Garrus looked over to another door where loud music was playing. The sign on the wall said, 'Forensics'. Keggs didn't go towards that door but pressed the button for elevator. "Pauline Schumann is our forensic expert, you'll meet her some other time. So far she has ratified your findings, DNA traces from the dead mercs, an unknown trace and a trace from Saren Arterius. She also identified the guns that were used but that doesn't really help us, they are not registered."

The elevator arrived and they rode it up in silence again. When the doors opened to the office, the older turian waved the salarian over. "Mirhale, show Vakarian here to a desk with a terminal. I want him to find information about the Spectres, so see to it that he has access to all necessary databases."

"But sir, the council databases are classified, we don't have access to them." Mirhale said nervously. Keggs turned around with an annoyed trill, "Can't you do something about that? Hack them?"

Mirhale was fidgeting and the orange spots on his horns looked a bit darker. "Well, sir, that would be highly illegal and kind of obvious with an investigation like this going on and..."

Keggs interrupted him with a growl and walked to a set of stairs that lead to a gallery level above. "I'll talk to the director, see if she can get us something. Give Vakarian access to everything we have so far and call Shepard, we have work to do."

The salarian looked around like he was hoping somebody else would take over the job of contradicting the boss, but his colleagues did not volunteer for that. "But sir, Shepard is still on leave..."

Keggs interrupted him with a slight chuckle, "And I'm sure she is already climbing up the walls out of boredom. Get her, I want her to work with Vakarian on the Spectre case." He made a wave with his hand again and entered a door on the upper floor.

Mirhale sighed and turned to Garrus. "Hi, I'm Terlin, and I'll be setting up your work account." He made a nod and Garrus nodded back. "I'm Garrus, and thank you for setting me up."

Terlin typed something on a datapad and then held it out to Garrus for fingerprinting and signing. "No problem, it was easy enough. Sign this please - okay. Here are your access codes and this terminal already has all the information and evidence for this case downloaded."

The salarian stepped back to his own desk next to Garrus's. Garrus started reading, most things about this case he already knew. He turned his attention to the Spectres. All records about them were sealed, the Council didn't even give out information on how many there were. The Alliance had estimated that there were about 80 or 90 of them, half of them asari, and the rest salarians and turians in about equal numbers. The asari were usually recruited from elite commandos, the salarians all had STG backgrounds and the turians usually came from the Special Ops group Blackwatch.

Garrus knew that Saren could not have been a member of the Blackwatch, he was too young when he joined, actually the youngest Spectre to ever have been instated at the age of 20. He was also longest serving turian Spectre, his service time only outdone by a few asari Spectres. As a whole, Spectres tended to not get old and for Saren to survive for 24 years as a successful Spectre was a record in itself.

Garrus looked over what else he could find but without access to the Council's database there was laughable little information about Spectres for him to read. With a frustrated hum he leaned back. Suddenly a familiar scent entered his nose and a voice that caused him to shiver spoke next to him.

She whispered, "Hello angel," and that silly dash of happiness bounced through his gizzard again. He turned slightly in his chair and looked up to her. She looked like she was glowing from the inside. She smelled of some flowery shampoo, it reminded him of the scent from the red rose she had given him a while ago. He breathed her in and even though he wanted nothing more than pull her into a tight embrace, he held himself back and just nodded at her. She grinned and stretched out her hand in that human greeting, and as he took her hand in his, her thumb stroked the skin of his talon for a second.

It wasn't much but it was enough. There would be time for them later.

Shepard pulled up a chair and sat down beside him, close but not so close as to actually be touching him.

"So what do we have?" She asked.

Garrus made a vague movement with his hand towards the terminal screen and hummed annoyance. "Nothing. We know basically nothing about the Spectres since the Council keeps it all classified. Unless Keggs gets something going through the director, we have nothing."

Shepard flipped through the notes he had put together about the Spectres, and then moved over to the notes about the frigate full of dead mercs. Suddenly she froze and pulled up the information about the ship.

"Katanga? It was the Katanga?" She stared at the name for a second and then moved to the list of casualties. She highlighted the three dead krogan and brought up their pictures. "Wrex was on the Katanga, he wrote me a while back." Relief flooded her face as she didn't see him in the pictures. "He's not among the dead, good. But I know that guy, he is an Urdnot. Shame, he wasn't a bad guy, for a krogan merc at least."

"What's an Urdnot?" Garrus asked.

"Urdnot is the clan name. Wrex is Urdnot Wrex, it's a big and strong clan. But they kind of fell apart in two factions. Wrex is actually the one who caused that, he has some new ideas for the krogan, wants them to be more than just cynical battletanks. His own father lead him into a trap to shut him up and he killed him." Shepard explained.

"That... sounds very krogan-like, actually." Garrus snorted.

"I know, fulfills all the stereotypes." Shepard said with a laugh. "But Wrex isn't like that, he has different ideas for the krogan. I'm not sure why but he had to leave Tuchanka after that and can't go back until he has done something significant for the clan. This guy here travelled with him, I met him once."

She seemed to be lost in thought and Garrus spoke up. "Contact Wrex, let's ask him about his time on the Katanga. Maybe he noticed something, maybe he even saw Saren. It's the only lead we have for now."

"Yeah, you're right but he could be anywhere, could be beating up quarians in the Terminus system for all we know." Shepard mumbled while she typed a message on her omni-tool.

"I don't want to imagine how a quarian would look after he got beat up by a krogan." Garrus said with a grin.

"Oh no, geez... that was not very nice of me to say, was it?" Shepard said and looked thoroughly ashamed. "I hope they never put me on some kind of diplomatic mission, some disaster that would turn out to be."

"I'm sure you would do great." Garrus said with a smile.

She smiled back and shook her head. "Whole new wars would start with me standing in the middle screaming, 'I didn't mean it that way!', I can just see it."

Garrus wanted to disagree but got distracted by the scrolling text on one of the news screens. A human, probably the ambassador, was being interviewed and the text said something about humanity asking for a human Spectre.

"So humans are still pushing for a human Spectre? I thought this ANIS project was trying to make the Spectres unnecessary?" Garrus asked, pointing at the screen.

Shepard looked up and nodded. "That's plan B, I guess. The ambassador, Udina, is really in love with the idea. Hell, that idea dates back to when Anita Goyle was ambassador, she had already pushed for a human Spectre. I don't envy the poor sod they put into that position. The pressure on the first human Spectre is going to be unbearable." She turned her attention back to her omni-tool as she had received a message.

Garrus saw her initiate a call and the screen popped up with the face of the red krogan he had met before. His voice rumbled from the speakers. "Shepard?"

"Wrex?" Was her answer. Both stayed silent for a second then Shepard started talking. "Wrex, you were on the Katanga a while back, correct?"

The krogan nodded on the screen. "Yes, we were five krogan. Skeev, Kerb and me from clan Urdnot, and Torket and Stake from clan Gerden. Why do you ask?"

Shepard sighed, "The Katanga drifted from the Widow relay this morning, everybody on board is dead, three of them krogan. I'm sorry."

Wrex made an angry grunt, "Stupid kids, I told them something wasn't right on that ship. Did you find a dead turian?" His eyes moved to Garrus on that question and he felt very uneasy all of a sudden.

Shepard looked with renewed interest into the screen. "No, but we found traces of one and we would like to talk about this turian, what he did, why he was on the ship..."

"I'm on the Citadel. Let's meet at the statue of the krogan battlemaster in ten." On the screen Wrex turned around and yelled at someone off screen. "Skeev, get up! We're going to meet Shepard." He turned back to face Shepard. "Be there. Bring your pretty turian along." With that he ended the call.

Garrus wasn't sure if he should feel insulted. Shepard was openly giggling. "Looks like Wrex likes you."

"How can you tell?" he grumbled.

"I'm sure he has never called anybody pretty before." Shepard said with a smile and got up, her hand brushing along his fringe as if on accident. She looked around the room and then called out to the tall human with the big smile. "Hey, Lorenzo, where is Keggs?"

"Lady Shepard, I regret to inform you that the master has not yet returned from his quest to woo the Lady of the upper deck." Lorenzo declared with a dramatic pose. Then he quickly looked around as if he expected someone to turn up behind him. When that wasn't the case he visibly relaxed again and stepped up to Shepard. The way he was looking her over made Garrus's plates itch. The dangerous looking asari rolled her eyes and Shepard grinned at her.

Shepard just smiled at the human. "Tell the boss that we are meeting someone who had been on the Katanga." She beckoned Garrus to follow her and walked over to the door. They stepped outside and found the hallway busy with many humans. With a brisk walk they made their way to the Presidium.

Garrus hesitated but then but he just couldn't stop the question tumbling out of his mouth.

"So this Lorenzo acts very familiar with you..." He tried to sound unconcerned but his subharmonics were clearly growling with possessiveness.

"Who's jealous now?" Shepard asked with a smile in her voice. She grabbed his hand for a second and squeezed it. "No need to worry, big guy. Lorenzo is just a big flirt, it's kind of his act. It doesn't mean anything, he's a good guy, really. Speaking of big flirt..." She opened up her omni-tool and started typing out a message. "Maybe Nihlus can tell us something about Saren, I'll send him a message."

They kept on walking in comfortable silence along the Presidium lake, side by side, their hands almost touching. When the tall statue of the krogan battlemaster came into view, they saw two krogan in front of it, arguing quietly. Wrex looked rather amused, the krogan beside him was visibly agitated. They stopped next to them and listened to what they were talking about. The krogan that was talking to Wrex was clearly younger than him, his skin looked softer and didn't have many marks. He pointed to the lake in front of them and said, "Why have all this water here if you don't keep fish in it? We could have fresh fish, real healthy fish, not like the mutated things on Tuchanka."

Wrex turned to Shepard with an amused grin. "Shepard, help me out here, this little hatchling here thinks there are fish in the Presidium lake. Are there?"

Shepard laughed out loud. "Honestly, Wrex, do I look like the gardener here? All I know is that the lake is the Citadel's water reserve and there is a complicated recycling process involved to preserve it. They probably don't want fish pooping in there." She turned to the young krogan. "Skeev, right?" The krogan nodded. "Tell you what, Skeev, I'll ask someone who should know and find out once and for all." That seemed to satisfy Skeev and he turned his attention to Garrus, eyeing him suspiciously.

Krogan and turians were not known to get along well, after the turians beat down the krogan rebellion and infected them with the genophage. In the few weeks since he had met Shepard, Garrus had had more contact with krogan than ever before in his whole life. He was still not quite used to the ease with which Shepard handled the massive battletanks.

Shepard looked around to see if anybody was listening in on their conversation. But they stood alone in front of the statue. She turned to Wrex. "You were on the Katanga, you said something didn't feel right. Tell me about that. We are especially interested in anything concerning the turian Saren and whoever was with him."

The two krogan exchanged a look and then Wrex began to talk. "The Katanga was run by a freelancer called Gartica, an asari matriarch, a long time in the business. We were on a fuel-station near Illium and heard that she was hiring. Had nothing better to do and needed the pay so we signed up. Later she told us that a turian was financing the whole thing and he sent us on assignments. Most of the time we were raiding freighters and pirate ships. Then he came on the ship himself and we went to an archeological dig site. He went down, took two asari and Kerb with him. Came back with nothing, but the place was smoking. Kerb later told me that the turian kept asking about prothean stuff and got quite mad when they had nothing for him, just some marks on a wall. Kerb said the turian blew the place up."

Shepard opened a picture of Saren on her omni-tool and showed it to Wrex. "Is that him?" She asked. Wrex took one look and nodded.

"Yeah, that's him. Looked angry all the time."

Shepard chuckled at that. "I heard that's his speciality. So why did you leave?"

"I knew he was rotten to the core when I met him. After that dig site we took down a massive cargo freighter, huge haul. It was volus trading vessel, they had lot's of guards but they were no match for us."

"What kind of cargo did they have?" Garrus asked. The krogan both looked at him with the familiar scowl that all krogan had for turians, but Wrex answered him.

"I saw nothing important, food, medical supplies, a few weapons but nothing big. This Saren was moving through the ship like he was searching for something. I was checking the bodies over for credits and valuables and I heard him talk to himself in the next room. He had expected something to be there and it wasn't. Was really mad about that."

"He was talking to himself?" Shepard asked.

"Or maybe over the comm, I don't know, there was nobody there with him and he never spoke to us. Later an asari matriarch joined him and they were hissing at each other. I had a really bad feeling about them and I got the hell out of there. Skeev here came along but Kerb didn't want to miss out on the credits. Now he's dead, dumb kid, and every other merc on that ship too." He turned his head to the side and looked at the krogan statue. "Looks like my instincts were right." Skeev made an approving grunt to that.

Shepard gave Wrex a slap on his arm. "I'm glad you're listening to your instincts, old man."

"That's how I met you, little girl, so I know it's a good thing." Wrex rumbled with honest affection in his voice.

Shepard grinned at him. "You're the only person in this universe who's allowed to call me a girl, my friend. Take care of yourself and don't go too far away, I may have something coming up where I could use you."

"I'll be here for a while. Take care, Shepard." With a nod to her and to Garrus he turned around to leave, Skeev following him. The younger krogan turned around once and called back to Shepard. "Don't forget about the fish!"

Shepard raised her hand with her thumb pointed upwards and yelled back, "Trust me, I'll look into it."

Garrus chuckled at that. "You really want to find out for him if there are fish in the lake?"

She nodded. "Yes, that's how you become friends with a krogan. You do something for him to show that you are trustworthy and reliable. We humans don't have the genophage baggage that makes the krogan so hostile towards turians, so it's actually quite easy to become friends with a krogan for us."

Garrus stretched his throat. "Yes, the genophage certainly has not made us friends with the krogan. But it was necessary at the time, the krogan were out of control."

Shepard looked thoughtful towards the huge statue in front of them. "Maybe it was, but is it right to keep them suffering? Wrex once told me that this statue represents the values of the krogan: honor, loyalty, courage, fortitude. All of that has been lost since the Krogan Rebellions and the genophage. In a few hundred years they might all be gone." She turned around and looked him in the eyes. "Maybe the situation called for drastic measures back then. But to let a whole species slowly die out? That's just cruel."

Garrus didn't know what to say, he had never really thought much about the genophage. It was just a historic fact for him, he had never questioned it. Shepard had turned to her omni-tool and he decided to not push the subject further. He needed to make up his mind about this himself.

A call came in on Shepard's omni-tool and he saw Nihlus looking at them from the screen. The red turian spread his mandibles in a wide grin and looked like he wanted to jump out of the screen to give them both a hug. "Hello my friends! What do my favorite warriors want from me?"

Shepard smiled and made a tiny noise that sounded like an apologetic trill. Garrus stared at her, it still surprised him that she could make sounds like that. Nihlus beamed at her. "Very good! So, what are you apologizing for?"

"We need to talk to you about Saren."

The smile fell from Nihlus face. "Ah, _futuo_, that's always an unpleasant subject. What do you want to know?"

Shepard looked at her notes and then turned back to Nihlus. "Why is he interested in prothean stuff?"

"That's... you know he really wasn't, his brother was more into that before he died. At least that's what he had said once. But lately... I met him a few days back and he is..." Nihlus was clearly uncomfortable talking about his old mentor like that. His subharmonics were wavering all over his voice. "It's like he is obsessed. He's changed, something is going on with him."

Nihlus sighed and Garrus made a sympathetic hum. Nihlus hummed in answer and went on. "There is something else. He has a new ship."

"What kind of ship?" Garrus asked.

"Huge, like a dreadnought." Nihlus said and both Shepard and Garrus gasped in surprise. "I've never seen anything like it, the shape... it looks like an animal."

Shepard looked over her shoulder towards Garrus as if she wanted him to tell her what kind of ship that could be, but he could only shrug. He had never seen or heard about a ship that looked like an animal. He moved closer to the screen, pressing the side of his face against Shepard's cheek. He felt her press back and enjoyed the warm feeling flowing through his gizzard.

He turned his attention back to Nihlus. "Do you have scans of the ship or a picture?"

Nihlus smiled at them and nodded. "How do humans say? You little lovebirds? I have scans, my lovebirds, and I will be on the Citadel by tomorrow night. Let's meet at your place, Garrus, and I will give you everything I have. Now stop smooching, you are making me jealous. Poor, deprived me."

Shepard laughed. "Hah! As if you would ever be deprived, I'm sure there is an asari purring right next to you just this minute."

Nihlus let out an amused chuckle. "You know me too well, my dear. See you tomorrow." With a trill he ended the call just as a blue hand appeared, stroking his fringe.

Garrus moved back from her and leaned back against the guardrail, turning all this new information over in his head. Shepard settled next to him, leaning back in the same way. He looked down on her, the shimmering reflections from the water made moving patterns on her black hair and he wanted nothing more than to run his talons through it.

Suddenly she spoke up. "What do you know about protheans?"

"Only what I learned in school, ancient race, probably built the Citadel and invented the Mass Relays, went extinct 50,000 years ago... that's about it." He said. "And you?"

"Oh man, not a thing, I have a hard time keeping up with all the alien races that are still around. I skipped the ones that are extinct!" She said with a laugh. Her fingers were raking through her hair, making her unique scent rise up to him. He groaned quietly and she looked up to him with a smile.

"You're vibrating again." She whispered, leaning her arm against his side. "Let's go home and watch a documentary about protheans. I'll be learning something and then get bored and fall asleep on your shoulder."

"Sounds wonderful." He said with a content rumble in his subharmonics. It still made him ridiculously happy that she called his place, 'home'.

()()()

* * *

_altera dimidia = the other half, soulmate_

_futuo = fuck_

* * *

_A few cameos in this one, did you recognize them? I had so much fun with that, I hope you did too._

_The lines from Wrex about Saren are in part taken from the game, slightly altered. The description of the krogan statue is also from the game, according to the wiki, Wrex says that if you look at the statue with him. He never did it with me._

_By the way, I have written a little story about Wrex and why he is nice to Garrus._

* * *

_Can I just gloat for a second that I wrote over 90000 words for this story so far? And that it has been viewed over 15000 times? That I keep thinking 'not so bad for first time writing'? And that it has so many reviews and favs and alerts? And that I love you all like chocolate covered strawberries?_

_Because I do._

_Thank you._


	18. Chapter 18

_A little bit of smutty fluff and a look into Shepard's mind._

* * *

()()()

Garrus and Shepard took the transit train down along Tayseri Ward, standing side by side, watching the high rising buildings go by. They passed a beautiful, sprawling building and Shepard asked him about it. He loved how her eyes filled with childlike curiosity. He explained that it was the Dilinaga Concert Hall, one of the greatest concert halls in the galaxy, known for it's excellent acoustics.

"What kind of music do they play there?" She asked.

"I'm not exactly the expert here, I'm more knowledgeable when it comes to the sound of gunfire." He answered. "But I know that they have asari and human ballet there, and old serious music from turians. Again, not really my thing."

"Yeah, not mine either." She said with a laugh. "There goes the romance."

"What?"

She brushed her hand over his and smiled at him. "Don't worry, it's just a thing from old Earth movies, the man takes the girl to the opera and she is moved to tears by it and they hold hands... it's all very romantic." She shook her head. "It's not really my thing, I would probably fall asleep during the performance."

The train shook slightly and she leaned against him for a second.

"But you can take me to the gun range anytime and play me a song with your rifle." She whispered. Her alluring voice made his plates move under his codpiece. He had to clamp his mandibles tight to his face and urgently held on to his subharmonics. A turian standing at the door was already looking at them suspiciously.

Thankfully their stop came up and they walked the rest of the way to his apartment building. A conversation about gun mods was bubbling between them, neither of them really paying attention. They looked at each other and it didn't matter what they were talking about.

As soon as they had entered the elevator, their conversation stopped and they only stared at each other with hungry eyes. They were alone and Garrus let his subharmonics growl and sing freely. She answered with touch, her fingertips brushing featherlike over his mandibles, his throat, his fringe, anything she could touch that wasn't covered by his armor.

When they finally arrived on his floor, Garrus felt like he was about to burst from desire. She walked in front of him towards his door, her hips swinging enticingly. He fumbled with the entry code, his higher brain function had evidently shut off. Shepard was giggling quietly and moved her fingertips under his fringe, making him groan even more.

Finally the door opened and the pieces of his armor began falling to the floor before the door had closed again. Her vest followed, one shoe got kicked across the room, the other left on the floor with her pants, looking like a snake with a big head. Her fingers moved efficiently over the seals and clasps of his armor until only his underarmor remained, his erection straining angrily against it.

She palmed his penis through the fabric and at the same time let her panties fly from her toes. His hand found her wet folds and he touched her carefully. Her moan made the underarmor unbearable to keep wearing, as fast as he could he shrugged out of it and returned to his woman. She had thrown off her shirt and her bra and finally - _finally_ - naked skin pressed against hot plates and they both sighed like two addicts getting their drug.

They were still standing in the middle of the room, halfway between the sitting area and the kitchen. Strong arms wrapped around each other, her face in his cowl, his mandibles in her hair. Her hands moving up and down his back and he tried to snake his hand back to the apex of her legs. He licked her neck and carefully nibbled the skin on her collarbone. Her breath came in gasps and she pulled him back towards the kitchen counter to lean against it.

When she had settled with her back against the counter, he moved back and licked down from her shoulder to her breast, circling the little nub in the middle. Her moan drove him crazy. Suddenly she pulled his face back up and kissed him, hard. With one foot she touched his legspur, making him shudder and she asked, "Does it hurt if I put my weight on there?"

"What? No, quite the opposite actually... aah." He finished the sentence with a shockingly loud yell of passion as she climbed up on him like on a tree, gripping his spurs with her toes. With a grin she growled, "Fuck foreplay," and lowered herself down on his very hard penis. Her moan was as loud as his.

"Yes!" She cried out. "In me! So good!" She firmly held on to his cowl to gain some leverage and rolled her hips. Garrus almost came from that move alone. She kept on moving and lowered herself up and down, bending her knees and standing on his spurs. The pressure there made waves of pleasure run through him. She moved faster, harder, and she smelled so good and she moaned and he couldn't hold back anymore. His nose pressed against her cheek as his orgasm ripped through him with force. Faintly he noticed that he scented her again.

He had to hold on to the counter to not lose his balance. She was still moving, one hand between them, furiously rubbing herself and after a minute she came herself. She yelled out incoherently and held onto his cowl for dear life. She was still moving, rutting against him, giving him wonderful aftershocks with those muscles inside of her. With a sigh she came again and then slammed herself against him and bit into his cowl, holding him with her teeth.

Deep, hidden emotions of days long past welled up in him and he almost bit her himself. Just the softness of her skin held him back.

Her teeth released his cowl, leaving little dents in the cartilage but she had not broken the skin. She settled her ass on top of the counter and Garrus pressed his forehead against hers. They stayed like that for a long time until their breathing had gone back to normal.

Shepard was the first to speak. "That was like torture, being right next to you all day, not allowed to touch you. Whenever I looked at you, I just wanted to feel you inside of me. I could hardly concentrate."

Garrus pulled his head back to stare at her in disbelief. "I thought that only happened to me."

"Are you kidding me?" She laughed. "I wanted to jump you all day."

He slowly let himself slip out of her and she grabbed a cleaning rag to catch their juices flowing out of her. He made a mental note to do some serious cleaning to this counter soon. But not now, now he just wanted to hold her.

He picked her up from the counter and carried her over to the couch, her legs over his hips. Before he could sit her down, she threw a towel on it to sit on.

"Still dripping, you know?" She said with a laugh. He grabbed a blanket to cover her and wondered if he should get a second one. She always felt cold to him but he knew that humans had a lower normal body temperature than turians.

"Are you warm enough?"

"Hell, yeah! Your place is always so warm, I could walk around naked and never feel cold. Palaven must be an oven if you are used to these temperatures."

"Turians don't like it cold, we keep our houses warm and we actually do walk around naked a lot of times." He said, sitting down next to her.

"Hmm, how distracting that would be..." She murmured into his ear, placing soft kisses on the side of his fringe. A shiver went through him.

He pulled her closer to him, spreading the thin blanket over them. "You want to watch that vid now?"

"About the protheans? Sure. But I'll probably fall asleep."

Garrus smiled, he liked the thought of her sleeping on his shoulder. "That's okay, we can watch it again some other time. Just rest."

She sighed happily and cuddled up against his side. "I love that you watch over me." She murmured and Garrus's heart made a jump.

_I love that you let me._

She grabbed a pillow and put it on his cowl to settle the side of her face against it. He laid his head carefully against hers. With a wave of his hand he turned on the big screen and started the vid. He had his windows programmed to follow the day-night-cycle of the Presidium and not the cycle of Palaven. The windows glass panes were already tinted dark, simulating a night time that the wards never had.

The speaker on the screen had said no more than five words when already Shepard had fallen asleep.

* * *

When Garrus woke up again, the window panes were already removing the tint, indicating that they had slept on the couch for the whole night. At some point he had moved his legs up and was now lying sideways with his head on the armrest. Shepard was lying on top of him on her stomach, wrapped in the blanket like a cocoon, the pillow with her head on it stuck in his cowl. He had no idea how she had even gotten into this position.

He carefully moved her to the side and let her slide off behind him. She snarled in her sleep and he chuckled. As soon as she had the couch to herself, she spread out and took it up completely. Garrus was still amazed by that ability.

He got up and went into the kitchen area. As he set the cava and the coffee machine to work he remembered his mental promise from last night and sprayed some cleaning solution on the counter to wipe it clean. Even after wiping all horizontal and vertical surfaces, his sensitive nose still told him of the sex of the last night. He issued a command to the ventilation system to clean the air.

Before the system started working, Shepard raised her head and looked over the back of the couch towards him. "I smell coffee." She said with a hoarse voice. Shepard was clearly not a morning person.

The ventilation system kicked in and took most of the smell out of the room. Garrus looked over to Shepard. She had wrinkles on her face where folds from the couch or blanket had pressed in. He thought it was amazing how her soft skin could change like this and then return to it's original state.

She got up and stretched, clearly not bothered by her nakedness. Raking her fingers through her hair, she traipsed over to him and took the cup of coffee he held out to her. Garrus stepped over to her and nuzzled her hair. She leaned her weight against him and kept drinking her coffee. They stood silently like that for a long time. Garrus considered this to be a perfect morning.

When Shepard had finished her coffee she looked much more lively. She stretched up and placed a kiss on his mandible, before making her way into the bathroom.

"I'm taking a shower. Then we could have breakfast and afterwards make our report to Keggs about what we have learned of Saren so far. What do you think?" She asked.

He nodded his head. "Sounds like a plan."

She disappeared behind the door and Garrus walked over to the window to look outside while he drank the rest of his cava. Outside the Citadel arm stretched out before him, lights twinkling. His apartment was on the 32nd floor, far above the atmospheric layer of the wards. Up here the building was sealed against the outside, the protective layer of gas over the atmosphere and the mass effect fields holding it in place almost thirty floors below him. If he squinted, he could see the faint blue ripples in the gas, caused by the mass effect fields adjusting. It looked like the patterns on Shepard's hair when they had been standing by the lake.

His thoughts went to her. He would have to tell her soon how serious his feelings were. Already he had scented her and he had not even told her. Turians may not be known for their romantic abilities but if he couldn't trust his own instincts, what could he trust? Garrus had no reference for his feelings, no chart to scale them against but he knew deep in his gizzard that there would never be anyone else. It may not be the turian way and there may not even be a turian word for this, especially not when it involved a human. But there is no other name for a binary system of two stars, revolving around each other in the grip of their own gravity, than love.

Garrus was shaken from his thoughts by hearing Jane call out for him. He stumbled to the bathroom where he was greeted by his human girlfriend's face full of soapy bubbles and white foam on her hair. He touched her hair and her cheek curiously, surprised how different it felt. She smiled at him and asked with an alluring tone in her voice, "Care to join me, my angel?"

_Are you hesitating, stupid turian?_

Eagerly he stepped inside the shower, closing the translucent door behind him. She turned the water back on, it was a bit colder than he usually liked it but he wouldn't complain. Not when he could use the soft sponge he had bought for her and wipe away all the soapy bubbles and suds, caressing her skin. Not when she leaned her back against him, her head resting on his cowl. Not when the sponge fell to the ground, his hands busy with her mounds and her labia. Stroking, circling he brought her to climax, catching her as her legs gave out under her. Turning around she climbed him again and lowered herself onto him like she had done before. But this time there was no urgency, no desperate roughness. This time she was sliding softly, slowly. Only when his own release rolled up to him did their movements become more frantic, desperate, and his roar got even louder when she bit into his cowl upon their climax, her vagina contracting around him.

He set her down again and she leaned against him, her face against the side of his cowl and her hands stroking the plates on his chest. She talked quietly over the rushing of water around them. "I love how soft your plates become, absorbing the water."

"And I think it's fascinating that your soft skin is water repellent." He said, stroking softly over her shoulder. Her collarbone stood out and he turned and lowered himself down to nibble at that beautiful curve. Her hands held his waist, strong and firm like he loved it. It gave him a warm shudder to think how well she already knew his body and what he liked.

The shower gave a warning beep about the excessive use of water and they stopped it with a sigh. He let her step out before vibrating his skin to let the water fly away. She turned around with surprise on her face. "What are you doing?"

"Shaking off the water."

"You can do that?" She asked curiously. He did another tremor and she giggled. "Like a dog coming out of the pool."

Garrus snorted at that. "Our plates absorb water and by vibrating we can get rid of most of it. The rest has to dry off with a sonic fan or a towel. What do you do?"

"We use a towel to soak up the water. I could dry in a sonic fan as well but you have to give me something now because I'm making a puddle on the floor here." She pointed to the floor and there was indeed a growing puddle of water. She wiggled her toes and they made little splashes in the water. Garrus thought that was adorable, the many toes looked like they had a life of their own.

He snapped himself out of his fascination with Jane's toes and threw a towel on the floor for her to step on and took another one to dry her with. He had come to love her skin and now he wanted to touch it all the time.

"You've ruined me, do you know that?" He whispered at her.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I ruined you? What did I do?"

"I'm a turian, I'm supposed to prefer rough plates and hard angled hips. But you are soft and round all over and I..." he nibbled her weirdly soft earlobe, "can't get enough of you."

_And I love you._

"And I should prefer unplated skin and flat voices but I can't." She whispered against the skin of his neck. "You have ruined me just as much." She pulled his face to hers and kissed him.

Their tongues connected and it made his plates shift again and he scolded himself inside. He felt like an insatiable teenager and he didn't want her to think that he just desired her for her body. And they didn't have that much time anyway. He broke the kiss and nuzzled her hair while she placed kisses on his mandibles.

"We should probably get going, we need to see if we can find out more about Saren before Nihlus arrives." He mumbled into her hair.

"Yes, you're right."

Neither of them moved.

He felt her take a breath as if she wanted to say something but she stayed silent. He pulled back to look into her face. There was a serious look on her face, and her mouth opened again with words that didn't come out. He tipped his tongue against her upper lip and she took a gasping breath.

He put his hand on her cheek. "What is it?"

She took another breath and the words came tumbling out of her, "You and me... it feels so right... you make me so happy!" She placed a kiss on his mouth and ran out of the room. Garrus felt a rush of pure joy flow through him and he had to laugh at the same time. They were both clearly equally incapable of putting their feelings into words.

Stepping out of the bathroom he searched for her and heard her cursing in the bedroom. With a chuckle he stepped up to her, stopping her from kicking the box with her clothes because it wouldn't open.  
"Let me help you." He said quietly and the annoyed frown on her face made way for a little smile. Together they managed to release the wedged lid and Shepard picked out fresh jeans and a shirt to go under her vest. When she got up he wrapped his arms around her and murmured into her ear, "You make me happy too", his voice underlined with deep rumbles of affection.

She leaned back against him and her breath came in a happy sigh. Garrus's subharmonics sang to her, affection, desire, love. Eventually she freed herself from his embrace, placing a kiss on his mandible and made an apologetic trill.  
"We have to get going, angel." She said.

He nodded. "I know, give me a minute to get dressed." He turned to his cleaning closet but realized that his armor had not made it into the thing last night. His armor was spread out in pieces all over the floor of the living room and the kitchen area. "_Futuo_! I didn't disinfect my armor last night. I have to do a quick cycle now, otherwise I'll smell all day."

"Alright, I'm getting us breakfast, but you have to write down what you want. I don't want to bring you children treats or something like that." Shepard said as she put on her shoes.

"Hey, there are perks to having a girlfriend, I'm getting breakfast brought home." He said with a chuckle, sending a few orders to her omni-tool. He began picking up the pieces of his armor from the floor. A slap on his ass made him shriek and Shepard jumped away with a giggle.

"Yes, there are perks, _boyfriend_, many perks." She called out with a laugh and he took note of the emphasis on the word boyfriend. She smiled beautifully at him and left him standing with a warm feeling spreading inside of him.

* * *

At the ANIS-office they had just managed to give their report to Jentarius Keggs before he had to run off with the team. Before he left, he ordered them to speak to the director and that was where they sat now, waiting to be called into her office. The secretary had entered the directors office and they sat alone in the hall. Sitting next to each other, their hands touched and secretly they were stroking each others hand.

Garrus almost regretted when they got called in, ending their little moment. As hard as it was to hide their feelings in public, he loved the little secret touches they had.

The director was a tiny human woman with a slim, hard face. Garrus immediately sensed that she was not to be underestimated. The woman stood up and held out her hand towards him.  
"Garrus Vakarian, I'm Jana Schaefer, Director of ANIS." Garrus took her hand, trying to make his handshake firm but not too much. Her hand was smaller than Shepard's, and while still strong, it was clear that the director had spent the last years more behind a desk than on the battlefield. After shaking his hand, Shepard and her exchanged a silent handshake as well.

The director sat back down and indicated to them to sit down. Garrus took note that one chair was of human design and the other of turian design. He was sure that that was not a coincidence, everything at ANIS was practically screaming of interspecies collaboration. The humans truly wanted this to work, accommodating all species in every way possible.

The director looked at them expectantly. "What can you tell me about Saren Arterius?"

Shepard took the lead and laid out their knowledge. "Saren was on board of the Katanga for a short time, we know that from a krogan merc named Wrex, who had signed up but left without pay because he had suspicions. According to Wrex, Saren had hired the mercs to raid ships and he came on board when they went down to an archaeological dig site. He was looking for prothean stuff, we don't know why. He left that place in ruins. Same thing happened on a volus freighter that they raided on his call, he was looking for prothean things but didn't find any. We will meet with Spectre Nihlus later on, Saren was his mentor and he may be able to tell us more."

Garrus nodded to show that he agreed with this summary. The director leaned back and thought the information over.  
"I find it deeply disturbing that a Council Spectre is raiding freighters and archeological dig sites. We have to inform the Council of this but we need more evidence than what a krogan merc is telling us."

"Wrex would never lie to me." Shepard said angrily.

The director raised her hands to calm her down. "I'm sure, but it will still not be enough to convince the council. You have to find out more, find another witness. If we want to convince the Council that their favorite Spectre has gone rogue, we need rock-solid evidence."

Garrus nodded again. "Agreed, so far we only have hearsay. But without access to the Council's database we can't find out where he has been and what his connections are."

The director showed a dangerous smile. "I might be able to help with that." She turned to Shepard. "The asari councillor, Tevos, will grant both of you access to the Spectre database for one hour. You can't copy any data, only read." Shepard opened her mouth to ask a question but the director stopped her. "Of course, she asks you to do her a favor for that."

"Of course." Shepard grumbled through clenched teeth.

"She wants you to speak to the asari Consort Sha'ira. She has a delicate problem that needs a careful solution." The director said and sent a message to their omni-tools.

Shepard looked more annoyed by the minute. "Not sure if I'm the right person for this job." She grumbled something unintelligible. Garrus was a bit surprised by her annoyance, he would have to ask her about that when they were alone.

The director showed a slight grin on her face. "I'm sure you can manage. I trust Mr. Vakarian here to remind you of your diplomatic talent once in a while."

Shepard's snorted once and then gave a curt nod. Garrus nodded as well and they both left the office after receiving the necessary contact data. They both left the building and Shepard sighed loudly.

"Now I have to kiss up to this asari..."

"What exactly is your problem? You're acting like this is a punishment."

"Yeah, I know, I'm being irrational." She sighed and raked a hand through her hair. "I admit it, I'm wary of the asari. Something about them rubs me the wrong way. I know, everybody loves them and I'm supposed to be all for interspecies understanding, but the asari..."

"Really?" Garrus asked with disbelief, "You are best friends with krogan, have a turian boyfriend, but you get xenophobic with asari? Everybody loves the asari."

"I know and I'm not talking about individuals, I mean Jinala was really sweet and I have met other, perfectly nice asari. But politically I just don't trust them. You know, I have a friend who does social studies and he told me how you have to watch a society for many generations to see if changes take and what developments are dominant. And now look at the asari. They founded the council along with the salarians. One of the longest living species with one of the shortest living. It's like they're watching an experiment unfold. While the salarians rush through generations, the asari keep on living and watching. The only other species living as long as them are the krogan and they are sure as hell not letting _them_ get anywhere close to the Council. Did the asari even change the councilor once, since founding the Council?"

"I'm not sure, how old is Councillor Tevos?" Garrus wondered.

"I don't know either. It feels like they just watch, you know? Watch and judge. They grant a few embassies here and there but they only let the turians on the Council after you guys practically singlehandedly cleaned up the fuckshit with the krogan, which they had caused themselves."

They walked in a brisk pace towards the Presidium. Shepard looked at her feet and kept her voice low enough so that only Garrus could hear her.  
"If the asari gave up the council, what would happen? For the asari this is still a first generation experiment, they could say it failed and move on."

They crossed the Presidium and made their way over to one of the bridges that crossed the lake. Shepard kept on talking. "And what do we know about the asari, how does their society work?"

They slowed down and Garrus pulled her to a bench on the bridge to sit down. He had the feeling that Shepard needed to get these thoughts out of her head.

"Did you know that when you visit Thessia, they assign a guide to you who takes you around and tells you where you can look and where you can't?"

"That's not unusual, to have a guide to show you the sights." Garrus interrupted but he knew that was not what she meant.

Shepard rolled her eyes at him. "I don't mean a tour guide, this guide is there to watch where you're going. You are not free to go where you want on Thessia. They say there is no poverty on Thessia but if there was, nobody would ever see it. What about economics? They have a monopoly on biotic technology and they export eezo. So where are the factory workers, the miners, the refinery workers? Do miners live in the same luxury as the temple asari? What about asari who are not as smart as others? What if they don't believe in the same goddess? They display this front of total peace and unity but I don't believe the world works that way."

Garrus's mandibles fluttered in a grin, it amused him that she had put so much thought into this. "I honestly don't know and never wondered about that."

"Why are you grinning about it like that?" She asked, grinning herself.

"This, this questioning, wondering, it is just so very human. It's the most wonderful, most interesting and most annoying characteristic of your species." Garrus said with a laugh and for a second he put his arms around her shoulder and pulled her towards him. Just for a second. On the other side of the bridge a turian clamped his mandibles to his face and made a disgusted hum.

He let her go and grinned at her. "Are you done now?"

She shook her head and wrinkled her nose at him. "No, I'm not done." She sighed. "You know, I can never talk about these thoughts because I don't want to come across as some sort of xenophobe. I don't dislike asari as people, but there are so many mysteries around them, they make me suspicious. Like what is it with their tendency to work as dancers and prostitutes? Not that I'm condemning that but surely there are more things a smart asari could do."

"Yes, I have been wondering about that myself." Garrus murmured. He even once had asked Dalinia about it but she had evaded the answer.

Shepard moved a bit closer to him and talked even quieter. "Ok, far fetched conspiracy theory here. A long time ago on Earth there was a spy called Mata Hari who worked as an erotic dancer and seduced important people and got them to tell her secrets. What if asari worked like that? Not all of them of course. But think about all the secrets an asari could get from a willing participant through one of their Embrace Eternity things. They could read it directly from your mind and you wouldn't even know it."

Garrus wanted to object but the words got stuck. Shepard wasn't the first who had asked this question, in fact when the turians met the asari back in the day, there were deep running suspicions for a long time against the mind melt. But somehow, after a while, nobody questioned it anymore.  
"They have an oath against unwanted mind probing. It sounds... I want to say unlikely but maybe it isn't..." Garrus had to admit that her reasoning sounded quite convincing.

Shepard nodded. "Yes, I think it's weird that nobody wonders about that. Like the Consort, she is a professional... companion to important people and they say that she has great political influence. How? How can she be influential if she isn't using the secrets, that those important people let her see, to her advantage?" She shook her head and looked at him. "So now you know my dirty secret, Commander Shepard is an asariphobe. I'm very sorry."

"So far you haven't shot any asari or yelled at one, I reserve my judgement for later." Garrus grinned at her. He really couldn't see her as a xenophobe, asking questions was not wrong.

"Yeah, thanks for the confidence. I'll try to control my urges." She grumbled sarcastically.

"Have you ever been with an asari? Sexually I mean?" Garrus asked, his subharmonics humming.

Shepard nodded. "Yes, once. It was very nice, sure, but this whole mind connection thing makes me uneasy. Afterwards she looked at me like she was scared of me. I don't like it if people probe around in my mind's secrets. It's not a pretty place, I'm sure."

He nudged her in the side with his elbow, "Hey, why would you say that? I'm sure your mind is chaotic and crazy but still very pretty."

"Charmer." She said with a laugh.

They both got up and walked towards the place where the Consort resided. As they got closer, Shepard's back became straighter and her face hardened, with her chin stretched forward. It was fascinating to see how she slipped into the persona of the hardened Commander.

They were led to the Consort Sha'ira by her assistant after waiting for a short time. The assistant kept on stressing what a great honor it was to see the Consort without any waiting time and how glad Shepard should be to even meet her. Garrus could see that Shepard became more uncomfortable by the minute.

The Consort herself was breathtakingly beautiful and had a soft manner that made her appear unassuming and friendly. Garrus could see why powerful men and women would like her. She had a way of taking herself back and letting the other person feel safe and comfortable.

It didn't work on Shepard at all. She kept her distance and her face showed no emotion.

The melodic voice of Sha'ira floated through the dim lit room. "One of my clients, a turian retired general named Septimus Oraka, has been seeing me for years and he wanted our relationship to become more than it can ever be. In his anger he is now spreading lies about me, revealing confidential information about Xeltan, an elcor diplomat. To Xeltan it looks like this information came from me and it damages my reputation greatly." The Consort had a pained look on her face. She took a step towards Shepard and took her hand. "I ask you to be discreet and caring. Septimus suffers and I don't want him to suffer more but you have to convince him that his behaviour is wrong. He needs to admit to Xeltan that he had discovered this information himself, that it did not come from me. Will you do this for me, Commander Shepard?"

"Yes, I had already promised to Councillor Tevos that I would help you." Shepard said with a nod. She stood very still but she didn't pull her hand away. Somehow she appeared more calm and relaxed. "Do you know where I can find Oraka?"

The Consort's warm voice embraced them even more. "He seems to spend most of his time in Chora's Den, drinking a lot. I am very glad that you will help me, Shepard. Please come back and see me when you have spoken to Septimus." She released her hand and took a step backwards. They said goodbye and walked out. Outside they stopped and Shepard looked at her hands with wonder.

"Wow, did you feel that?" She asked.

Garrus felt the last tingles of Sha'ira's presence fall away. "Yes, her voice did something. I felt safe, content."

"She is good. She made me all warm and calm inside. I can see why she is so revered." She sighed. "Well, let's see if we can find Oraka. Take me to the bar, Garrus. Pretty sure you still know where that bar is, right?"

Warm memories from a long time ago floated up in his mind. "Oh yes, I do, Alliance-Red. Yes I do."

()()()

* * *

_Yay, Sex! You thought I would deprive you but you were wrong! And then I went into sweet-romance-cuteness overload, I hope nobody got a toothache from that._  
_And Shepard isn't quite the guardian of interspecies understanding? Who would have thought?_

_About Garrus's apartment above the atmosphere; according to the Codex:_

_-The__ Wards are open-topped, with skyscrapers rising from the superstructure. Towers are sealed against vacuum, as the breathable atmosphere envelope is only maintained to a height of about seven meters. The atmosphere is contained by the centrifugal force of rotation and a "membrane" of dense, colorless sulphur hexafluoride gas, held in place by carefully managed mass effect fields.-_

_Seven meters, for all you non-metrics, would be at about three stories high, a bit under._

_I think this is so cool._

_Also in the Codex it says that only the Presidium has a day-night cycle, the wards stay bright around the clock._  
_I imagine that people can program the window panes in their apartments to get dark, following a certain cycle. It would be done with something like LCD's, like they are used in auto darkening welding helmets. You could even program them to make patterns, looking like a silhouette cut-out. So you would program it to follow the cycle of your home planet or you could follow the Presidium's cycle like Garrus does. I imagine Garrus had it on Palaven's cycle for a while but the Presidium's cycle was just easier for him and his work shifts. And it was also a way to disengage himself from his family on Palaven._

_I'm thinking way too much about this._

_Thanks to Credete for editing once again!_


	19. Chapter 19

_Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter, every single one gives me a real boost. You made me blush a little as well._

_And someone liked my selfdarkening glass and someone got the cameos, yay!_

_Since I can't write the guest reviewers directly I'm saying "Thank you" here. Shayne B asked whether Garrus will become the sassy badass we know - I'm trying, really. But we also see the story from his point of view so we see more of his insecurities. I'm aiming to make him more snarky and badass but I don't see him there yet. So far he's still the Palaven boy with an attitude, who had not had any real struggles to get through yet. I will try to get him to be more sarcastic soon, I just don't know how well I can write that._

* * *

()()()

"So, do you think I should talk to Septimus or should you?" Shepard asked as they slowly walked over to the elevator that would take them down to the markets.

"The Councillor and the Consort want _you_to do this." Garrus answered.

"Yes, but he's a retired turian general, wouldn't it be better if another turian spoke to him about honor and how to deal with rejection?"

"Turians are notoriously bad at dealing with emotions like love and rejection. Sunshine, you weren't there but let me tell you, when I thought you had left me, I was in a bad place. Just ask Frank and Nihlus. I'm not sure I can be of much help." Garrus said with a slightly embarrassed trill.

Shepard put her hand on his armored arm. "I'm sorry I made you feel bad but I had thought..." She shook her head at the memory.

"You know that I never meant it that way."

"I do now." She said quietly. She turned her head and gave him one of her blinding smiles that always made him miss a breath. She had put some dark color on her eyelashes, pronouncing them and making her pale blue eyes look even more intense. He couldn't look away and almost bumped into the elevator door.

In the elevator a newscast mentioned reports about ominous incidents in the Exodus Cluster and the Armstrong Nebula. These reports mostly came from mercs, who were always eager to tell spooky stories to Citadel reporters, so no one actually took them serious. Still, the human colonies in these outer reaches were always under a threat and the Alliance was spreading itself thin, trying to protect them all.

The doors opened to the upper markets, and the smells from many people of all kinds of species, many of which could really use a shower, attacked Garrus's nose. He looked over to Shepard and saw her wrinkle her nose, so she noticed the smells too. It was quite the contrast to the clean and bright Presidium. While the Keepers kept the station functional and even managed to keep the lower area clean, the upper and lower markets still suffered from the mass of people in them at any given time.

They passed the market stands, ignoring the salesmen calling out to them with their newest deals or fighting with angry customers. They went down a set of stairs into a hall full of mercs and businessmen of the more shady kind. These were the lower markets, a bit more dirty, a bit more not quite legal. Garrus felt very uncomfortable in his C-Sec armor and ignored the hostile looks he got as best as he could. Shepard beside him was tense, her hand on the pistol on her side, but she still walked like she owned the place.

Passing a krogan who looked even more angry than krogan normally do, they got out of the room and into an open corridor connecting different parts of the lower wards through passageways, tunnels, elevators and a transit train. From the other side of a walkway over a nauseating deep gap in the Citadel's structure, loud music spilled over to them and with a short look over their surroundings they went to the club.

Chora's Den was still one of the more shady establishments on the Citadel, always under surveillance by C-Sec. Which did nothing to prevent the illegal deals and the frequent injuries over disagreements about those deals happening there.

Garrus nodded his head towards the window in the surveillance alcove where he had spent a lot of time when he was still a rookie at C-Sec. It was also the place where he had met Shepard for the first time, and where he had had his first sex with an alien, two strangers who never told each other their names. The memory made a warm shiver run down his spine.

Shepard looked at him with a tiny smile and he noticed that her face was flushed pink. She probably had the same thoughts as him.

They fell in step next to each other, each protecting the flank as if they were in hostile territory. Which wasn't far off the truth, many patrons looked warily at Garrus's armor and had their hands on a sidearm. Garrus knew that the club had fallen into new hands recently and now belonged to a human named Fist. It was also well known that Fist was an agent for the Shadow Broker. Since the change in ownership the clientele in the club had taken a turn for the worse. Garrus wondered why C-Sec didn't show more presence here.

The whole place was built in a circle, the bar in the middle and tables with cushioned sofas arranged on the outer wall. The music was loud and obnoxious, asari dancers writhing on the tables to it. They laughed and giggled but the sleazy looks on the patron's faces made Garrus feel uneasy. He thought back to the questions that Shepard had about the asari and he had to agree. Why did young maidens do this? It was one thing to be more open and relaxed about one's sexuality, but it was something else entirely to be looked at like a walking-talking sex-toy.

A quick look around showed them all kinds of species but Garrus soon spotted an older turian sitting on the side close to the entrance. He pointed him out to Shepard, he wore expensive clothes, a purplish robe draped over his shoulders and his fringe. It made him look very much out of place in such a seedy environment. On the table in front of him five tall glasses stood empty, the sixth glass, half full with the pink sparkle of an asari-style cocktail, was in the turian's hand.

It was hard to tell whether a turian was drunk or not if he was sitting down. Drunk people walked the same way across every species but the rigid faces of turians and their normal, stiff posture made it hard to tell their drunkenness while sitting. But Garrus could tell that the general was well on his way to a gigantic hangover the next morning and closing in on falling over without memory right now. Chora's Den was probably the worst place to do that.

"We have to get him out of here." Garrus whispered to Shepard. "He'll fall over soon and who knows what will happen to him then."

"Is he really that drunk?"

"Oh yes, I'm not sure if there is any point in talking to him right now." Garrus said. He stepped up towards the general and made his voice and the underlying harmonics sound authoritative. "Sir? Come with us please, we have a few questions for you."

The general snapped his head up. "Leave me alone, you unplated youngling." His speech was so slurred that Shepard looked at Garrus confused, apparently her translator gave up on Septimus's speech. The General raised the glass to his mouthplates but forgot to close the sides of his mouth, dripping the pink liquid all over his robe. With a frustrated groan he patted himself down with a napkin but failed in getting any of the sticky liquid off his robe.

Garrus grabbed his arm and pulled him up, Shepard supporting him on the other side so that he wouldn't fall face first into the table. He was mumbling some protests but let himself be led outside. They went over the walkway to the corridor, his spurs occasionally catching on Garrus's, and placed the general on a bench where he slumped forward. Garrus pulled him back against the wall before he could fall off the bench.

Shepard snapped her fingers in front of his face and the general stared, confused by them for the strange sound coming off them. "General Oraka. Can you hear me?" She asked but as she watched his head loll she shook her own head. "You are right, Garrus, there's no point in talking to him now. Would _cava_sober him up?"

"Yes, it might. A huge glass of water would probably also help. Should I get some?" Garrus still had to hold the general up, he looked like he was about to tumble over.

Shepard straightened up. "No, I'll get it, you stay here with him, maybe he will talk to you. I can't understand him anyway." She turned around and went into the lower market hall. Garrus noticed that the general had his eyes open and looked rather interested after Shepard. He made a warning growl and the general turned his face to him.

"Don't worry youngling, I noticed your scent. I won't pursue her. I also smelled her on you. Looks like you got a good thing there." The turian general looked a bit more awake by now and Garrus hummed his concern. "Leave me in my sorrow, youngling, just leave me."

"I can't do that, General." Garrus said and trilled to get the general's attention. "I'm Garrus Vakarian, C-Sec, and that was Commander Shepard of the Alliance. The Consort has asked us to speak with you."

"The Consort, yes." He closed his eyes for a second and sighed. "I've seen a lot of horrible things in my days and there's only one woman in this damn galaxy who helps me forget it. Her. And she doesn't want me."

Garrus hummed sympathetically. "If you... adore her so much, why do you spread lies about her?"

"I love her!" The general looked up as Shepard came back with a cup of _cava_that he eagerly took and drank. He sat up straighter and yelled at Shepard as if it was her fault. "She rejected me. Me! Septimus Oraka, general of the turian fleet!"

Shepard didn't take kindly to getting yelled at. "Some general you are, moping in a bar. What would your troops think, seeing you like this?"

Septimus fluttered his mandibles and his subharmonics underlined his words angrily. "The troops can kiss my leathery backside. All I wanted was to retire and be with her. I deserve that." He hissed and turned to Garrus. "Look, youngling, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but don't waste your time."

His posture broke and he fell forward, leaning heavily on his elbows on his thighs. His voice got quiet and his subharmonics changed to grief. "The one place I always felt at peace was with her, but now..." A low, sad keen was all he could do.

Shepard squatted down in front of the general and looked him in the eyes. Her face showed sympathy but she hummed a line of tones that told a turian to get his act together. Oraka stared at her with genuine surprise. He made a short trill and Shepard repeated her hum. It had the desired effect, the old turian raised himself up.

He still stared at Shepard who slowly got up again. "Straighten up and act like a general?" He asked. Shepard nodded. "Maybe you're right, Commander. Sha'ira is worth it, even if she won't have me back."

Shepard took his arm and pulled him up. "Get up and get moving General."

Septimus nodded and wiped down his robe. "Alright, I'll go to her... after I've had a cold shower. Or two." He lifted the cup of _cava_. "Here's to soldiers acting like soldiers. Thanks Garrus, thanks Commander Shepard. You know Commander... you might make a good general yourself one day."

He took a datapad out of his pocket and handed it to Shepard. "Take this to the elcor diplomat, Xeltan. I spread his secrets and made it look like they had come from Sha'ira but on here he will see how I really got my information. That will exonerate Sha'ira and he may see that he needs to up his security protocols."

Shepard made a turian salute and Septimus made one as well. With a short look to Garrus he said, "Commander, could I have a word with Vakarian here alone? I'll send him after you in a minute."

She nodded and went back into the lower market. Garrus didn't like the idea of her waiting there alone and he growled at Septimus to hurry him up.

Septimus only fluttered his mandibles in a grin. "Does the Commander know?"

"Know what?" Garrus growled.

"That you scented her. Does she know what that means?" Septimus grinned even wider, knowing from the confused trills that Garrus couldn't stop, that he had been right. "So she doesn't know? Every turian who comes close to her will know that she is to be your bondmate and she has no idea? How do you think she will react when she finds out?"

Garrus groaned and his subharmonics were extruding fear and embarrassment. "I'll be in a world of pain, probably."

Septimus came up close to him and sniffed. "I can also smell her on you. Did you have sex in your armor?" The general hummed, pleased with himself. "I had no idea human women were so... adventurous. Maybe I should broaden my horizons..."

Garrus growled uncomfortably. "I have to go. Spirits watch over you, General." He dipped his head and walked fast over to the door to the lower markets. Behind him he heard the general laugh.

"Good luck Garrus. Hold on to the good thing you have."

As the door closed behind him he saw the general walk over to the transit terminal. He looked sad and Garrus felt sorry for him. To love and be rejected, nobody deserved that.

The door closed behind him and he scanned the room to make out Shepard. He discovered her in a corner of the room in deep conversation with a krogan - _of course! _- over some gun mods. As she saw him, she walked over to him and waved a goodbye over her shoulder towards the krogan. "See you later, Jax."

The krogan looked at him suspiciously and suddenly sniffed the air. A laugh rumbled through him. "So that's him. Ha."

Shepard looked at him confused and then at Garrus but he shrugged his shoulders and pretended to not know what's going on. They went back up the stairs. Once they were on the upper level, Shepard went over to the huge window that overlooked the ward toward the ends of the Citadel's arms. She stared out in wonder.

"So many people, so many species. We humans had begun to conquer space like 200 years ago, maybe? And now look at this, this spacestation, larger than some planets, people from all around the galaxy and we are among them all. It's kind of overwhelming." She kept looking out, her arms leaning on the railing. Her face full of the childlike wonderment that he loved to see. She looked so beautiful to him.

He scrambled for a breath, his chest constricting once again. "Yes, overwhelming." He agreed but he didn't mean the station.

She finally pushed herself away from the rail and looked at the direction markers on the wall. They took an elevator up to the Presidium and as they stepped out he noticed how Shepard looked around confused.

"What is it?" He asked her.

"The embassies, are they this way or that way?" She turned to the left and to the right, looking for something and then turned on her omni-tool..

He snorted in amusement. "Are you lost?"

She sighed. "My sense of direction isn't all that great. I always have a map on my omni-tool. Let me see..."

Garrus put his hand on her back and gently pushed her in the right direction. "Come on sunshine, I know where we have to go." He smiled at her. "Never would have thought that you needed someone to guide you to the right places."

She turned to him and whispered with an underlying tone. "There are certain places I would like to guide _you_to right now."

He stumbled and silently cursed the people in the corridor to the embassies because he really needed to press this woman against the wall and bury himself in her. As they entered the elcor embassy he was glad that he wore his armor, it did hide certain things.

The huge, grey elcor spoke in the typical, slow drone that all of his species had. It clearly drove Shepard up the wall, her foot impatiently tapping, her arms crossed in front of her chest to prevent her hands from fidgeting. For an occasional sniper, Shepard was surprisingly impatient. Not that he was much better when it came to conversations with an elcor.

She presented the case to him and the diplomat droned, "Unbelieving. I know this Septimus and he could not learn my secrets. The only way he could learn them is from the asari Consort."

Garrus noticed how Shepard almost rolled her eyes and took a breath for a probably more snappy retort and he felt her pain. To cut the ordeal short he snatched the datapad out of her hands and showed it to the elcor. "As you can see, we have proof. Septimus himself has given us this information and he recommends that you update your security protocols."

Xeltan twitched some of the fleshy appendages in his face and droned, "Confused. This is difficult to fathom. Dismayed. Anyone can discover my secrets."

Garrus tried to calm him. "Septimus Oraka is a retired general, he is a powerful man, with good sources. I'm sure for anybody else, this information would not be easy to find."

The elcor kept on worrying about the information and his complaints about the Consort. He left to talk to her as hurriedly as someone of his kind could, stomping out and making the walls rattle with his steps.

They walked out after him and found themselves alone in the hallway. In a fluid motion they both turned to the other and embraced. Arms wrapped around each other, Garrus nuzzled Shepard's hair and she pressed her face into his cowl. They didn't need words.

Shepard's omni-tool chimed and she growled a string of curses that his translator didn't get. With a sigh she answered the call in audio only, her face still pressed against his chest.

"Yes, sir?" She asked, her voice making clear that she was talking to a superior. An unfamiliar voice answered from her tool.

"Shepard, could you see me for a minute if you're around? I'm at the ambassador's office."

"We are just around the corner, sir, we'll be there in a moment." She closed the call and took Garrus's hand to pull him behind her as she walked towards the set of doors leading to the embassy halls. When the door opened she let go of his hand but he stayed behind her, watching over her, protecting her. It felt right.

They made their way to the human embassy. Shepard looked over her shoulder and indicated that he should come up to her side. "That was Captain Anderson. I had sent him a message this morning that I would like to talk to him about a turian he had worked with."

"Why? Did he have anything to do with Saren?" Garrus wondered.

Shepard had small grin on her face. "Well... it's all _oh so very_classified, as you know. But on the Alliance side every little fart is documented, even if they don't mention the names of everyone involved. I had a search algorithm about operations involving the Council, the turian Hierarchy and the Systems Alliance. Anderson's name turned up as having worked with a turian on a big mission with a scientist, artificial intelligence and what not, and somehow it all turned into a disaster. It's pretty much the only bad mark on Anderson's resume."

"What is the name of the turian?" Garrus asked.

"There is no full name but it is shortened to S.A." Shepard said with a smirk. She put up a grainy, fuzzy picture, taken in an angle from the top on her omni-tool, showing a dark skinned human and a white plated turian. "I also found this picture, not a good one but I'm sure that Mr. Skullface here is a younger Saren."

It was hard to tell but the overly long mandibles stretching out on the side of his head looked at least like Saren's. Garrus was intrigued, he never thought that Saren would ever have worked with a human.

When they arrived at the human embassy, a man left the room, who Garrus recognized as the human ambassador. His face showed a forced smile as he looked at Shepard and greeted her with a nod and a snarled, "Commander". Shepard answered with an equally snarled, "Ambassador". The ambassador ignored him and Garrus couldn't help but think that it was deliberate.

They entered and Shepard's face turned softer, showing a real, friendly smile. "Anderson, Captain, my Captain!" She called out and in a display of complete disregard for protocol and rank, she pulled the dark-skinned man into hug. Anderson looked surprised for a second but then returned the hug.

With a giggle Shepard stepped back from him and made a proper salute. "Sir, it's good to see you."

Captain Anderson saluted as well. "Likewise, Commander, nice of you to come so quickly." He turned his attention to Garrus and extended his hand towards him. "You must be Garrus Vakarian, it's very nice to meet you." Anderson was older and slightly taller than Shepard. Garrus saw the intelligence of a soldier in his eyes but also the caution of experience. This man did not easily make friends.

Garrus took his hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you too, sir." He stepped over to Shepard's side and Anderson directed them both to a set of chairs around a conference table to sit down.

He could tell that Anderson was guarding his features, while he was obviously glad to see Jane Shepard, he also looked tense. Garrus decided to watch his face closely for the signs of lying in human faces that he had studied so well. He discreetly set up his omni-tool to make a recording of the Captain's face.

Anderson settled down on the opposite end of the table and made a small pile of datapads in front of him. With a sigh he looked up and addressed Shepard directly. "You know, I do get a warning flag messaged to me if someone tries to access files I have categorized as classified. Adding your message this morning, I'm almost dreading to ask what the hell you are working on, Shepard."

Shepard grinned mischievously. "Vakarian and I are part of an ANIS investigation about the Spectres. Especially Spectre Saren Arterius." She leaned forward and fixed her pale blue eyes on him. "Tell me about the mission you had with Saren."

Anderson pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "How do you even know?" He groaned. Then he looked up. "You didn't, did you?" Shepard's lips twitched. Anderson shook his head and murmured. "Fell for the oldest trick in the book..." Shepard's grin only got wider.

Anderson leaned back and looked at some spot on the ceiling. "I can't tell you any details, but... back then the Alliance had a research facility on Sidon in the Skyllian Verge. I can't say much but there was an emergency, missing scientist, just what you expect from a secret operation falling over. The ambassador Goyle wanted me to investigate and also be tested as a Spectre candidate. Saren was assigned to test me. We went after that missing scientist who had apparently changed his subject of interest and had some old artifact in his possession..."

Shepard's back tensed. "What kind of artifact?"

"I don't know for sure, Kahlee said it was old, maybe even older than the protheans. The artifact and his research about it was lost in an explosion." Anderson sighed and pinched his nose again. "Saren made a damning report about me, said I endangered the mission. I barely managed to get out with Kahlee, before he destroyed the place and all evidence. The artifact and the research were lost and Saren made it look like my fault. The Council put the idea of a human Spectre back into the drawer and hasn't taken it out again so far."

Anderson got up and went to the window overlooking the Presidium. He stayed silent and appeared to be deep in thought. There was something in his posture that spoke of defeat, regret and a deep sadness.

After a few minutes he pulled himself out of his mood and turned back to the table. His attention focused on Garrus. "I may have been known to have a non-favourable opinion of turians for a few years after the experience with Saren. I... I can't erase that but I want to make it clear that I have learned that Saren is an exception among the turians, not the norm."

Garrus acknowledged that with a dip of his head. Shepard spoke up with a snort, "He's an asshole, sir."

Anderson let a small smile play on his face before he turned serious again. "Even worse," he said, "his behaviour is intentional, he knows what he's doing, unapologetically. He has no regard for life, only the mission and his advantage." He sat back down again. "You have to be careful if you plan to go after him. I'm not the only one who gets flags mailed to him if someone accesses the old files."

Garrus and Shepard shared a look. They had to work fast if Saren knew that he was watched now.

Shepard looked up to her Captain, who was also her friend. Her face didn't show her Commander mask, she looked like a girl who had to interrogate her own father and didn't want to do it. "Is there anything else you can tell us? Could Kahlee have more information for us?"

Anderson suddenly leaned forward and slammed his hands flat on the table. The pile of datapads toppled over, some clattering to the ground. "You will not, under any circumstances, contact Kahlee Sanders!" He yelled angrily, "She is under my protection and her involvement in this case is classified. Not even I have had contact with her for the last 18 years. She doesn't have any further information for you and you will not contact her. Is that clear, Commander?"

Shepard straightened in her seat and loudly replied, "Yes, sir! Crystal, sir."

Anderson's features softened and he pushed himself away from the table. He had that deep sadness on his face again and Garrus couldn't help but wonder what Kahlee Sanders had been to him. Shepard got up and walked around the table to Anderson's side, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for dragging these old stories back out." She said softly. Anderson padded her hand with his own and for a second his shoulders sagged forward. He suddenly looked years older.

With a nod to her he composed himself again and indicated for them to follow him to the door. "You have to go now, Ambassador Udina will be back soon and I have a confidential call to make before that." He took Shepard's hand and looked at her warmly. "Take care, Shepard. Oh, and your aunt Marianne would like to hear from you once in a while. She calls me sometimes to hear what you are doing and I would prefer if you told her yourself." He had a scolding look in his eyes and Garrus noticed with amusement that Shepard squirmed like a schoolgirl who hadn't done her homework.

"Yes, I'll write her." She mumbled, staring at her feet. With a nod to Anderson, Shepard and Garrus left the room, letting the door close behind them before they began to talk.

They took a few steps away from the door. Garrus turned to her, "Did you know that Anderson was supposed to become a Spectre?"

"No! I never heard about that." Shepard shook her head, "We talked so much through the years but he never mentioned that. He also never mentioned this Kahlee, I wonder who she is."

"Are you going to try to find out who she is and what she knows?" Garrus asked.

"No, I think we should respect his wish. And it was a long time ago, I think we should concentrate on Saren's recent actions." Shepard began to walk slowly back to the Presidium and they stayed silent for a while.

Finally his curiosity overcame him and Garrus just had to ask, "Who is aunt Marianne?"

Shepard wrinkled her nose for a second. "After Mindoir... after my parents had died, aunt Marianne took me in and gave me a home. She was my mother's sister, lives in the outskirts of Chicago, a city on Earth, runs her own furniture business. We..." Shepard sighed, "we didn't get along all that well. It was mostly my fault, I was an angry teenager with posttraumatic stress disorder, full of fear, anger, loneliness. She didn't have any children of her own, never wanted any, and suddenly she had an angry, hormonal teenager in her house."

Shepard stopped at the lake and looked ahead, her eyes unfocused. "She liked to cook, to sew, to decorate and she tried to make me interested in these things. There she was, talking about recipes and all I ever did was practice Taekwondo kicks in the basement."

"What's Taekwondo?" Garrus asked, settling against the rail beside her.

"Martial arts, lot's of kicking and punching. I practised that for hours, I was so angry all the time. On good days I just played games. The rest of the time I was constructing things, printing them and putting them together." Suddenly a small smile danced over her face. "There must be boxes full of little constructions that I made. I wonder if Marianne still has them. The only thing we did together was cooking and eating dinner. It made me a decent cook at least."

"You can cook?" Garrus had not expected that.

"I'm no chef. But I can follow a recipe without setting things on fire and I can usually whip up something edible with the stuff that is there. It won't be fancy but it will fill you up. I could cook something for you." Shepard suddenly looked up. "Of course, I would have no idea how things taste for you. How many tastes do turians have?"

"What do you mean?" Garrus asked, trilling confused.

"We humans can taste sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami on our tongue. What about turians?" Shepard asked, her face full of curiosity again.

"Turians taste sweet, _suavis_, sour, bitter, _amarus_ and salty. Also on the tongue." Garrus said.

Shepard looked at him thoughtful. "What is _suavis_ and _amarus_ like?"

Garrus had to think about that for a minute. Suavis was just _suavis_, how should he describe that? "Suavis is kind of sweet and tasty, a very pleasurable taste." He said after a while.

Shepard nodded to that. "That sounds kind of like umami, only umami is more on the salty side for us."

"Amarus is a dark, bitter taste, very unpleasant. It's not just bitter, it's worse. Turians can tolerate things that are bitter but things that are _amarus_ are inedible for us." Garrus had to shudder just thinking about the taste.

Shepard laughed a little. "Is that why turians don't like human coffee? Coffee is quite bitter but maybe we don't taste it like you do."

"That could be true, I never understood how anybody can drink that vile stuff." Garrus smiled at her. "But I tolerate the smell because I see what you are like before you have had any in the morning."

Shepard grinned. "Yeah, you don't want to argue with the morning monster before it has had coffee."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Garrus grumbled and wiped a strain of hair from her face.

She smiled at him and he spread his mandibles in a smile at her. He wanted to press his forehead against hers but he didn't dare. Not out here in public, and not without talking to her about his scenting.

Shepard suddenly saw someone and walked over to a turian who was picking weeds out of a flower bed. She knelt down beside him and dipped her head. The turian looked slightly suspicious but acknowledged her greeting with a dip of his head. Garrus walked over to them and greeted the old man as well.

"Are you the gardener here?" Shepard asked.

The older turian raised himself up and pointed around the Presidium. "I'm one of the gardeners. I'm responsible for the flowerbeds on the whole Presidium."

"They look wonderful, so beautiful." Shepard said in earnest. "Do you happen to know if they keep fish in the Presidium lake?"

The gardener laughed. "I usually only get this question from krogan. No, there are no fish in the lake, it's the Presidium's water reservoir and they try to keep it as clean as possible. The only things living in the water are plants. I made a few flowerbeds for marsh plants on the shore, right over there, you see?" He stepped up to Shepard to direct her view and suddenly sniffed. With a jerk he turned around and stared at her. Then he turned towards Garrus and he knew that the gardener was taking in his scent to compare it to what he had just smelled on Shepard. His eyes widened and his mandibles hung slack when he realized that her scent came from Garrus.

His subharmonics chirped a mixture of confusion, disgust and amusement as if he couldn't decide on the right reaction. Garrus hissed at him to keep quiet but it was already too late. Shepard had her arms crossed and looked with furrowed brows back and forth between the two turians.

She made a nod towards the gardener and thanked him for his information and then roughly grabbed Garrus's arm and pulled him over to a quiet corner on a walkway over the lake. Garrus was kind of relieved that they were in public, at least she probably wouldn't shoot him here.

_Hopefully?_

With her arms crossed and leaning back slightly she looked at him, her eyes piercing. "Garrus Vakarian, I get the distinct feeling that there is something you want to explain to me. And don't you dare say that you don't know what I'm talking about! Every turian and krogan sniffing at me, you know damn well what I'm talking about. Spill it."

Garrus squirmed under her intense gaze, stretching his throat. "I scented you. Turians and krogan can smell that."

"You did what? What does that mean?" Shepard asked, her voice a bit higher than usual.

He sighed. "I didn't plan it, it just happened, ehm, in the heat of the moment..."

Shepard looked at him critically and opened her omni-tool, typing in a search. She read the result and her eyes got wide. She looked up to Garrus. "The Extranet says that we are engaged now. The fuck?" She stared at him and he couldn't quite understand the emotions flying over her face. There was confusion, fear, anger and something else. She took a breath and then hissed. "And it just happened? Does that _happen_ often? You do that with all your women? You didn't mean it? Or did you? And why didn't you tell me? What the hell, Garrus?"

"This is not the place." He snarled and grabbed her arm and dragged her over to the C-Sec headquarters. She pulled her arm out of his grip and angrily growled at him but she followed him into C-Sec. Silently they stomped through the hallway, ignoring people looking at them, until they got to Garrus's old office. Luckily it was still unoccupied and he locked the door behind them.

Shepard had her arms crossed again and the look on her face was quite hostile. Garrus took a careful step towards her. "Shepard, I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I scented you." Her face turned a little softer. He took a deep breath, trying to come up with an explanation. "Scenting is not a purely instinctual action but close to one. It's a way to signal to other potential partners that this one is not available anymore. I did it... as I said I didn't plan it..." He lost his way, burned by the angry look she gave him.

He took another step towards her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Jane, I have never done that before with any partner. I don't know what came over me... You drive me crazy, you make me lose all sense of reality and I... "

Suddenly she smiled, making his gizzard jump. She raised herself on her toes and put her hands on his mandibles, stroking them with her thumbs. Pulling his face towards her she kissed him softly, suckling on his mouthplates. Her voice was husky as she whispered, "You silly, romantic turian. Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Well for one, you're usually armed..." He said, fluttering his mandibles in a relieved smile.

She laughed, lowering her head and he realized that she offered her forehead to him. He lowered his head as well and pressed against her with an urgency that was slightly ridiculous. He felt his scent release and he sighed in relief that he didn't need to feel guilty about that anymore.

Jane moved away from his forehead but held his head down and pressed her nose against it, sniffing. "It smells... different." She whispered. "It's kind of metallic, different than your usual scent." She looked him in the eyes. "I wish I could do that too. To you." He forgot to breathe.

She grinned. "I could put on lipstick and cover you with kissmarks, telling the world that _I_ kiss this turian and no one else!" She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him all over his face.

There it was again, that feeling that something behind his cowl wanted to explode.

()()()

* * *

_Aaaww, they are just so cute!_

_Most of Septimus's lines about Sha'ira and Xeltan's are from the game, they were just too good, but I changed the setup a bit._

_How __do__turians close the sides of their mouths for drinking? Damned if I know, maybe they can raise their gums? Have internal lips on the sides? Let's just ignore this for now, I'll come up with something later. Stuff like this keeps me up at night._

_The story about what kind of things turians taste? I completely made that up, so no canon-panic please. I just thought that they are more into sweet things, since they are almost made of dextrose._

_The story of Anderson working with Saren, Kahlee Sanders and what the artifact had to do with Saren's obsession is told in the book 'Mass Effect: Revelation' by the lead writer of the Mass Effect video game, Drew Karpyshyn. In case you haven't read that yet, you should, it's very good._

_Constructing things and printing them? Well, in the future everybody will have a 3D-printer of course! (I want one...)_

* * *

_suavis = sweet and tasty_

_amarus _= _very bitter_


	20. Chapter 20

_Thanks for all the lovely reviews on the last chapter, I felt warm and fuzzy for days._

_Sorry that you all had to wait so long, but life and shit, you know how it is. As a matter of fact, this isn't even edited but I didn't want to wait any longer posting it. Any and all mistakes you find are mine._

_Shall we bring back some Jane Austen in space? Yes we shall._

* * *

()()()

They made their way over to the Consorts chambers again. Walking side by side, their hands almost touching. Shepard was wiping absentmindedly over her forehead and suddenly stopped walking. Garrus had to skid to come to a halt beside her.

"What is it?" He asked.

"You scented me again." She stated.

"Yes?"

"That wasn't very smart, was it? You said that every turian and krogan will be able to smell your scent on me. Not exactly keeping things a secret, right?" She said.

Garrus stretched his throat. "I'm tired of this secrecy. Can't we just stop it?"

"No, Garrus, we can't. It's not the time yet, every turian who smells that, could turn hostile towards us. Humans and turians are still hung up on the old war." Shepard punched her finger into the breastplate of his armor. "We have to be professional, remember? We want to be taken seriously, we want to make a difference, we want to show people that it can work."

Garrus trilled slightly embarrassed. "You're right, I may have to use turian soap to get it off and even then... it's quite persistent." He murmured.

"Alright, we let the Consort know that things are taken care of, then we go home for a short time so I can wash and we can eat something. After that we go back to ANIS and collect on that favor from the asari Councillor."

Garrus chirped his agreement and they started walking towards Consort's place. Her assistant was very excited again and fluttered around them happily talking away about how amazing the consort was and how lucky they should feel to see her so soon again. Shepard turned her back to her so that she couldn't see how she rolled her eyes.

The Consort finally interrupted the stream of words by calling them over. She directed them to a sitting area this time and asked them about Septimus. Shepard nodded at Garrus, and he gave short a summary about what the general had said. After he had finished, Shepard relayed the reaction from Xeltan. The Consort nodded at that.

"Yes, I have heard that he has tried to contact me. I will call him to give him the opportunity to speak of his error and clear his mind." Sha'ira said with her melodic voice. Garrus felt once again how her voice and her mere presence calmed him. He saw it in Shepard too, the tension falling off her shoulders.

She thanked them with many, beautiful words that neither of them really paid attention to, as it didn't matter what she said. Her voice was so soothing. The spell broke when she wanted to put her hands on the sides of Shepard's face to mindmeld with her. Shepard jerked away and jumped up. Sha'ira looked truly confused and it brought an honesty to her face that made Garrus realize how much of her normal persona was just an act.

The Consort got up slowly and carefully stepped closer to Shepard. "I want to express my gratitude by offering you the pleasures of a meld with me. I can assure you that it will be wonderful for you and it would be an honour for me."

Shepard took a step backwards and held up her hands. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm sorry but I... eh... don't feel comfortable to receive such a gift from you. We already have an agreement with the Councillor and that will be enough for us. I'm glad we could help you."

Garrus stood up and placed himself beside her, an odd feeling rising in him that she needed him there with her.

Sha'ira had her face under control again with a calming smile. She took something out of the box on the table and handed it to Shepard. "Please take this locket from me as a gift for you. It may be useful to you one day." She looked up to them and it appeared as if she was studying them. "I see. Your bond is strong, I can see it clearly. May the Goddess Athame watch over you two."

With a tiny bow she left them and they made their way back outside. Shepard was looking at the trinket in her hand and then put in her pocket. She typed something on her omni-tool for a minute and sighed before she closed the screen again. Garrus wondered what she had written but he had noticed that Shepard always took notes and wrote things down. If it was important, she would surely tell him.

They walked over the walkway to a transport hub to take one of the trains running along the Tayseri Ward. Garrus thought back to what the Consort had said. "What do you think she meant by 'your bond, I see it clearly'?" he wondered.

Shepard seemed to think that question over. "Maybe she can see different electromagnetic wave lengths. There are people on Earth who say that they can see the Aura of someone, sort of like a light of their personality. I never believed that to be true but maybe the asari see different than us." She looked up to him. "Maybe you see different than me."

Garrus thought about that. "I think I read somewhere that humans and turians have comparable range when it comes to colors but humans can't see in the dark."

Shepard nodded at that. "True, night vision goggles are a human invention, turians don't really needed them. My friend Hyun Su, remember? You met her..."

"Badass Girls Circle, I know." He said with a smile. "She took that picture we like."

"Yes, her." Shepard smiled. "She worked with asari in bioengineering and she said something interesting a while back. We describe asari as blue, maybe light- or dark-blue but that's about it. Asari have like 25 different names for shades of blue, so to them they look different, they have different blue shades." She looked up to him and she had that childlike curiosity on her face again that he had come to love. She was once again typing something on her omni-tool. "I'm writing that down for later, I'm going to look up what asari can and can't see."

They had arrived at the transit hub and entered a mostly empty wagon. They sat down next to the window and Shepard leaned her head back. To Garrus astonishment she had fallen asleep before the train had even arrived at travel speed.

* * *

Garrus heard the water rushing and stamped all thoughts about the water pearling on her skin out of his mind. They didn't have time and he really needed to stop acting like a hormonal teenager. He had taken off the upper parts of his armor, stretching his arms and rolling some tension out of his shoulders.

The food he had prepared for each of them stood in color coded bowls on the table, her bowl in red, his in blue. He had picked Shepard's after the picture on the package. It was something with fish and vegetables, a common combination in turian meals as well. Her fish looked really strange though.

Maybe they ate it differently than turians. He turned to his omni-tool to research human food when he realized that the recording, that he had started when they spoke with Anderson, was still running. He stopped it and skipped backwards to the talk with Anderson. He wanted to look at his face when he spoke of Saren but suddenly something else drew his attention. He let the recording play from the point where they left the embassy, the camera algorithm struggling with finding a focal point and the right framing. When he had moved his arm too much, the camera turned off completely, only recording short snippets whenever they walked.

When they had stood still, waiting for the train and while they sat on the ride, the camera turned on again. The algorithm focused on different faces, assuming an intent behind the filming.

A naked arm suddenly crawled over his shoulder and Shepard, smelling of turian soap came up behind him, pressing her face against the side of his fringe. He pressed back against her, feeling heat rush through him. She was saying something but his brain did not register anything but her touch. He groaned a deep rumble.

He turned around, grabbed her upper arms and pulled her over the back of the couch. With a laughing shriek she fell into his lap. She was naked, her skin still slightly damp on some patches. He pressed her against his chest, burying his nose in the crook of her shoulder, stroking her back and her waist with his hand. He heard her sigh and she somehow wrapped her body around his, molding against him. Her skin was so soft and her fingers were massaging all the right places under his fringe. He was losing himself in his arousal.

Shepard turned her head to kiss his mandible and then whispered against it. "Hey. I said, we should get going." Garrus let his subharmonics growl deeply in his chest, feeling her shiver from the vibrations against her skin.

"Can't hear you, naked woman." He rumbled and licked her jaw line up to her ear. She reacted with a deep, lustful moan. But then she pushed herself away from him and he reluctantly let her go. "No, no, no. I'm not showering yet again." She said and jumped away from him.

Garrus let out a sad subharmonic wail and he could see her react in empathic sadness. He stopped himself "It's alright, I'm just messing with you. But please, put some clothes on." He groaned, "You're really testing my reserve here."

She giggled, which made her breast jiggle and then turned around to walk to the bedroom, swinging her hips in a comically overdone way. He had to sigh. _This woman is going to be the death of me._

A short time later she came back in her normal pants and a rather colorful T-Shirt. It had bright red and yellow shapes on the front and some writing on it. His translator was not helping him. "What does it say on your shirt?" He asked.

"Your translator not telling you?" She asked, pulling the shirt down to straighten it. He shook his head. A mischievous grin spread on her face. "Well, it says 'I fuck turians'."

"Please tell me it doesn't."

She laughed out loud. "No, it doesn't but now I think I totally need a shirt like that." She sat herself down next to him and picked up her red bowl. "The thing on my shirt is a graphic like it was used in old comic books. It was to indicate a sound or a something like that. This one here says 'Ka-Pow', like someone gets hit." She was silent for a minute as she shoveled her food into her mouth. He studied her face as he picked his own vegetables from his bowl. When she chewed, her whole face seemed to work at that.

She looked back at him, halting her fork just before her mouth. "What?"

"Is it good? Your food, I mean?" He asked.

She seemed to think about that question. "Well, it's not bad but I think I could make something like this myself and it would taste better. But it's quite good for something readymade."

"Why does the fish look so weird?" Garrus wondered.

"What do you mean? It's cooked, for most fish, the meat turns white when it's cooked."

"Ah, that explains it." Garrus said. "We hardly ever cook our meats."

"Oh, I should make you some sushi with dextro fish one day." Shepard said before slurping the rest of her meal out of her bowl.

"I would like it if you made something for me if I can make something for you too one day." He said to her and it made himself feel warm inside to think of them working side by side in his kitchen.

"Cool! Hey, when Nihlus comes tonight, I'll cook something for you two." Shepard said enthusiastically.

Garrus hesitated for a second with his answer. "But you can't even taste it like we do!"

"Don't worry, I'll follow a recipe and you can do the final tasting. If it sucks we can still order something." She grinned at him, her tongue darting out to catch some residue from her food.

"Alright." Garrus nodded and transferred the video from his omni-tool to a large datapad. "I wanted to show you something. I had started a recording when we were talking to Anderson and forgot to turn it off."

"Why did you record that?" Shepard looked at him confused.

"You remember that I'm considered an expert on humans and lying? That's how I do that. I watch the recording afterwards and look for signs, tiny microexpressions." Garrus explained to her.

"So you expected Anderson to lie to us?"

"I didn't mean that disrespectful..."

"No, good thinking." She said with a sigh. "I'm always way too trusting when it comes to friends. You are right, he could have lied to us, I never even thought about that."

Garrus picked up the datapad to hold between them. "But that's not what I wanted to show you. I had forgotten to turn it off and it kept on recording the whole time. To and from the Consort, at C-Sec and the way home. Now look at this, I let it play a bit faster."

He started the video. On the screen the focus point of the camera was jumping from face to face, sometimes catching a face in the distance, sometimes a person up close. On the screen Shepard went over to the gardener and knelt down beside him. "Stop video." Garrus called out. He pointed to a turian in green clothing standing on the bridge in the distance, apparently reading something on his omni-tool. The camera had not focused on him so it was impossible to see where he was looking.

"Remember him." Garrus said and continued the video. On the screen Garrus and Shepard were arguing and then walked over to the C-Sec entry. Shepard pointed the turian out on the screen, lazily walking in the distance. When the on-screen Shepard and Vakarian left the C-Sec building and walked over to the Consort, the camera had turned off. But when they left the Consort's chambers, the green-clothed turian was leaning against the rail, reading on his omni-tool again.

Shepard looked up to Garrus and then back to the screen. "This guy was following us!"

Garrus nodded. "Yes, I didn't find him as we walked to the train hub but he was on the train, see?" He fast forwarded the video up to the point where the train was taking them down the Tayseri Ward to his apartment complex. "You had already fallen asleep, which I have to say is a strange habit of yours."

"Hey, that's the first rule of Basic. Sleep whenever you can, you might not get another chance anytime soon. Moving vehicles always make me sleepy and I trusted you that you wouldn't just leave me on the train." Shepard planted a soft kiss on his mandible before turning back to the screen.

Garrus enjoyed her gentle touch with a soft trill. He let the video advance up to the point where they had left the train. The green-clothed turian had sat away from them, looking intently at his omni-tool screen. "He's not looking at us but he's definitely following us."

Shepard tilted her head. "I think he has us on camera. He's looking at the recording on his omni-tool."

"Spirits be damned, you are right. But why is he following us?" Garrus kept looking for their follower but he couldn't spot him anymore. The recording switched to audio only while they were walking to his apartment building. As they stood in front of the elevator, the camera turned back on but their stalker was nowhere to be seen.

"I don't think he followed us to find out where I live." Garrus murmured.

"No, that's not exactly a secret. Do you think Saren contracted him?" Shepard asked. "Anderson said that he would get notified if someone accessed the old files."

"I don't know, that seems almost too subtle for someone like Saren."

Shepard nodded, "Right, he could just address the council directly and ask why someone was poking around in the old stuff. Hiring someone to watch us, what would that gain him?"

"Compromising pictures?" Garrus wondered.

"But he can't know if that would really bother us. No, I don't think Saren is behind that guy, if anything he would probably do it himself because he trusts no one." She said. "Who else could be interested in the two of us?"

The realization hit him square in the chest. "Oh no. Spirits take me, I know."

Shepard turned to him. "Who?"

"My father. Ancestors be damned, this is exactly what I should have expected from him." He put his face into his hands, growling his anger.

Shepard looked clearly surprised. "You father has hired someone to spy on you? Why would he do that? I mean, he could just call you, I'm sure he knows that."

_No, he couldn't._

Garrus didn't want to explain what his denial of his fathers decretum had truly meant. That his father would never call him because as a good turian son it would have been Garrus's duty to initiate the contact. That the breakup with his family was not something he could fix with a simple call.

"I think... this is more about you." He said quietly.

"Oh." Her face scrunched up in deep thoughts. "He's spying on me? He must be really worried about my bad influence."

Garrus swallowed whatever he could say to that. Shepard had no idea how serious his father was taking this. He would have to talk to him soon to stop him from doing anything drastic.

Shepard was putting on her shoes and her vest and fixed her heavy pistol to her side. "He's overdoing a bit, don't you think? Maybe you should just call your old man. Clear the air. He obviously wants to know what's going on. Anyway, we should get going, I want to cash in on that favour from Tevos."

Garrus nodded and put his armor back on. His thoughts were spiraling out of control, he had thought himself to be safe from his family. But it was obvious that the older Vakarian was not about to let his son go on with his own life so easily.

* * *

They walked through the upper markets because Shepard wanted to look at a new pistol scope she had heard about. Garrus really didn't see the point of a pistol scope if you had a sniper rifle but Shepard apparently wanted her pistol to be the ultimate weapon for every purpose. She walked over to a volus merchant with determination and greeted him.

The volus strained his back to look up to them and his breather rattled. "Greetings, Earth-clan, greetings, Palaven-clan, what can I do for you?"

"I want to look at pistol scopes." Shepard said, pointing to a section of the kiosks shopping menu.

The volus took a wheezing breath. " Ah, yes, I have a wide variety of scopes. Here," another wheeze, "take a look." He opened a crate with different scopes and Shepard began looking at every single one. With a wheeze the volus started speaking again. "So, Earth-clan, you just came here from one of the colonies?" Wheeze. "Noveria maybe? Or Feros?"

"No, why would you think that?" Shepard asked confused.

"Oh, nothing, I just heard that people seem to be leaving those colonies." Another wheezing breath. "I hear a lot of things. Maybe if you are looking for information, " wheeze, "I may be able to help you as well." He was apparently very proud of that and seemed to try to straighten his back. On a volus that looked kind of funny and Garrus turned his face away to not give away his amusement.

"I'll keep that in mind. What is your name?" Shepard said with the corners of her mouth twitching.

"The name is Expat, Earth-clan."

"My name is Commander Shepard." She looked at him seriously and Garrus could not see a hint of arrogance or amusement in her features. "I'll be taking this scope, please deliver it to this address. I may come back to you for information."

The volus took a long, rattling breath. "Glad to be of service, Commander Shepard."

With a nod they both turned away and made it just around the corner before Shepard broke down in a fit of laughter. She held her stomach like she was in pain but she was laughing so Garrus thought that she was probably okay.

"Oh man! I can't..." She was trying to catch her breath, still giggling. "Wasn't he just the cutest, little wheezing potato you have ever seen? And so seriously proud."

Garrus fluttered his mandibles in a grin. He didn't know what a potato was but he could imagine. "It's hard to take the volus serious sometimes," He had to laugh. "But if I remember correctly, we had something on file concerning Expat. I think he works for the Shadow Broker or has at least contact with him."

"Well, damn, I'm falling for stereotypes again, am I?" Shepard said with her brows furrowed angrily. "I should be better than that. Just because he is small and round, I think he is not dangerous, what a stupid thing to do." She kicked against the wall in anger. "I'm always the first one to call people on their stereotypes, and I'm not even better, for fucks sake."

Garrus put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, at least you didn't show it when you spoke to him."

"Thanks to my pokerface." Shepard ruffled her hair and then they both started walking again. Leaving the market area, they came out on the Presidium and made their way over to the ANIS building. As they passed the statue of the krogan battlemaster, Shepard suddenly turned and ran over to a group of krogan. Garrus grew slightly uneasy but he thought it better to keep his distance. A human among them was probably easier to accept for a bunch of krogan, than a turian.

Shepard, looking tiny and frail in comparison, had of course no problem among the huge creatures. She talked to one young krogan who Garrus recognized as Skeev. She hit him hard on his hump as she left and the whole group was laughing. Garrus shook his head, her connection to the krogan was still unfathomable to him.

She came back to him and they continued their path. Shepard still grinned. "Skeev was really disappointed that there were no fish in the lake." Her face turned more serious. "I wonder where Wrex is, he didn't want to tell me. I hope he's not doing some stupid merc job."

"He doesn't really have that many options though."

"True. Still, if I want to recruit him, he needs to be, well 'clean'." She made air quotes with her hands. That was one of the human gestures that had found it's way into the repertoire of many species in record time. "The Alliance will throw a fit otherwise."

"What would you want to recruit him for?" Garrus wondered.

Shepard squirmed. "Ah, it's still classified..." She pulled his head down so she could whisper close to his ear. "I can't tell you details but there's going to be a ship. An awesome, awesome ship and we will be on it."

"What are you talking about?" Garrus looked at her confused, her face so close to his and her eyes full of excitement.

"Can't say more. Be patient." She whispered. Next to them a turian growled aggressively, obviously unhappy how close together they stood. Another turian passed them, making a disgusted sound with his subharmonics.

"Looks like we stopped at Judgemental Corner, we better find our way back to Modern Times Road." Shepard said loudly with a grin and brushed shortly over his hand before settling into her walk by his side. Garrus trilled his amusement at her remark and to show the other turians that he also didn't care for their opinions.

_Spirits, I love her._

* * *

Back at ANIS, the office was mostly deserted, all the teams otherwise occupied. Garrus and Shepard walked up the stairs to visit the director and they had to wait a little. He held her hand, his thumb stroking the soft skin between her own thumb and her many fingers.

The door opened and he let her hand drop from his. The director stepped out, looking them over with stern but friendly look. She waved them over to follow her as she walked to a room on the other side of the gallery.

"Councillor Tevos was very pleased with how you had handled her request." The director said to them. She let them into an office with a single terminal on a table and two chairs. Garrus noticed two cameras on opposite sides of the room pointing at the table.

The director indicated to them to sit down but then called Shepard back to her to ask a question. "The councillor has relayed from the Consort that you refused the mindmeld. Anything I should know about?"

Shepard looked straight at her without showing any emotion on her face. "Just personal preference, ma'am."

"Alright, suit yourself. That terminal will give you access to the council database. You can take notes but they will be confiscated and reviewed before they are handed back to you. No pictures, no video. You have one hour."

With that she issued a command from her omni-tool and the terminal sprang to life. Shepard and Garrus eagerly leaned forward and Shepard typed in 'Saren Arterius'. The screen filled with many entries, a list of all assignments and an entry about his personal background

They both looked at each other for a second and with a nod, Shepard activated that link. The list was extensive and Garrus decided that it was unnecessary for both of them to look at the same stuff, so he opened a second window on his side and started to look through the list of assignments. Saren had been around the whole galaxy on his assignments. About half of his jobs did not come from the council, he just happened to come across a situation and intervened under his Spectre authority. Garrus had the suspicion that not all of these situations were as clear cut as his reports made it look.

Shepard was looking through a financial list on her side and had her face scrunched up deep in thought. "Wasn't the Arterius family kind of cast out?" She asked and Garrus leaned over to her side to look at the entries she had opened.

Garrus tried to recall what he knew about the Arterius family. "The Arterius family was not exactly influential but the brothers had both made a name for themselves around the time of the Relay 314 Incident. Later Saren's brother, Desolas, somehow went mad, destroyed most of their property and lost most of the families fortune. After he had died, Saren has associated the clan with another one, because he couldn't stand on his own."

"Yes, it says here that the Arterius clan is now part of the Serpentin clan. But he didn't take on their markings." She said.

Garrus hummed his surprise. "That's actually kind of insulting. It seems like he doesn't like his new clan. He prefers to go barefaced instead of taking on new markings? That is a true slap on the fringe."

"Being barefaced has some kind of stigma, right? Weird that he prefers that to the new clan markings. But then he never had markings. He happily uses their resources though. He is rich now, did you know that?" Shepard said, pointing at a list of firms Saren had invested in. "He has significant investments in Armax Arsenal and Haliat Armory on Palaven. And it says here he is financially invested in ExoGeni on Feros, Terlegin on Digeris, Binary Helix on Noveria... Help me out here, Garrus, why does this sound so familiar?"

Garrus also felt like had heard those names before. Then it dawned on him, "The volus merchant, Expat! He asked whether you came from Feros or Noveria."

Shepard stared at him for a second before she spoke. "Yes. Colonists are leaving there, turn up on the Citadel, most of them human, a volus merchant-shadow broker contact knows about that... is this just a big coincidence? We look up where Saren has his money and we find two, mostly human colonies under corporate administration. Saren is surely not investing in these companies out of the goodness of his heart, he doesn't even like humans."

"We should ask Expat about the colonists he met, get some names from him so that we can find them." Garrus said.

Shepard nodded, a grin playing around her lips. "Yes, let's talk to Exy-Potatsy, he..." she broke down in laughter, "I'm sorry, I can't... I shouldn't..., I'm sorry..." She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes.

Garrus shook his head, the volus were a client race for the turians and didn't look unusual to a turian. Garrus himself had seen plenty when he was still a child. For a second he wondered if she had ever laughed like that about turians. The thought stung.

Shepard suddenly stopped laughing and stared at him wide-eyed. "Now you're wondering if I ever made fun of turians like that." Her hand covered her mouth as she stared at him aghast. "Oh god, I never... I'm a horrible person." With a look towards the camera, clearly aware that they were being watched, she grabbed his upper arm, squeezing it. "I never laughed about turians like that and I will not make fun of other races ever again. It's wrong and I know that and I don't want to be that kind of person."

"Okay," Garrus said, a relieved trill in his subharmonics. "I wouldn't think you to be that kind of person." He put his hand on her arm and squeezed lightly. Slowly the tension left her face and a tiny smile returned.

Garrus looked at the clock on his omni-tool. "Let's use the time we have left to look over Saren's recent activities. We need the locations and what he said in his reports. And let's cross check his reports with the times in the logs from the Katanga."

They feverishly collected dates, read reports and tried to get as much information out of the database as they could. Before they got logged out, Shepard looked up which Spectres had worked with Saren. Only Nihlus name turned up. Garrus noticed how Shepard hesitated to look up information on Nihlus.

She looked over to him. "He's a friend. I don't want to find out secrets about him that he is not willing to tell to my face."

He took her hand. "I understand. Let's just check the times and then we can ask him ourselves about those meetings."

She sighed and began writing down the dates. "It always gets messy if friendship is involved." She murmured.

Garrus felt a knot of fear, would they one day come to a situation where their feelings for each other would collide with an investigation?

The terminal beeped three times and then shut off. Shepard dropped the datapad on the table and shoved back her chair. "Fuck, that wasn't enough time." She got up and began pacing in front of the door. "We have to review what we know as long as it is fresh." She looked at the camera on the other side of the wall and spoke directly to it. "I want my datapad back as soon as possible."

The door opened, indicating that they should leave. They went to the desk that Garrus had used on his first day and began talking. They poured out everything they still had inside their heads, comparing it, drawing a rough timeline of the last two years of Saren's activities.

It was exhilarating, feverish work against their own brain limitations. He loved it.

* * *

On the way back home, Shepard and Garrus both received a message from Nihlus, that he couldn't come tonight and would bring breakfast tomorrow morning. Shepard decided that she still would cook something for him and they went on a turian food market to buy the necessary ingredients. The turian salesman almost forgot to charge them, he was so dumbfounded by the concept of a human cooking for a turian.

Each carrying a bag of groceries they went back to Garrus's apartment. On the way he thought that he saw the turian again that had been following them this morning but he wasn't sure. Shepard was very quiet, apparently deep in thought. Garrus was also turning all they had learned today around in his head. He felt tired, it had been a long day.

As they entered his apartment, Shepard was full on yawning, he could see right down her throat. They put the groceries on the counter and both fell down on the couch. Garrus stretched his arms out and Shepard leaned against him, laying her head against his cowl. He was just about to say something when he noticed that she had already fallen asleep. Her ability to fall asleep on the spot was uncanny.

Garrus let himself relax as well and he nuzzled her hair, taking in her scent. He didn't notice it but he must have fallen asleep because he woke up from the chime of his omni-tool, announcing a call. He sighed and answered the call even though he couldn't see who it was. The screen lit up and showed him the face of his sister.

"Solana! I'm so glad to hear from you." Garrus called out and he realized in that moment how much he had missed talking to her. "How are you doing?"

"Oh brother, I'm doing fine. I should thank you, you know." Solana trilled a pointed remark at him. "Ever since you moved up to worst son of the universe, I can pretty much do what I want."

"You're welcome, sister. Glad I could help improve you life." Garrus sighed. Next to him Shepard stirred, waking up from their talking.

Solana tilted her head and chirped a question at him, if he was okay, if he was feeling well. Garrus answered with a trill of his own, calming her, telling her that he was fine.

"What are you doing brother?" Solana asked with a sigh, her subharmonics singing a sad tune. "Mother is crying at night, father is even more angry and cynical than usual and guess who has to take his jabs every night at dinner."

"I'm sorry Solana, I never meant for you to suffer because of me." Garrus said. He suddenly became aware of big, human eyes looking at him. Evidently Shepard had woken up and she was clearly confused. Then she noticed that he was talking to his omni-tool and turned her face to look at the screen.

"Um, hello? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." Shepard murmured and moved to get up.

Solana called out from the screen. "Hello! You must be 'the human', as my father says." She made the mock-airquotes and Garrus was astonished that that gesture had made it all the way to Palaven. "I'm Solana, Garrus's sister."

"Nice to meet you, Solana. My name is Shepard, at least that's what I like people calling me.. ehm.. I let you two talk." She hurriedly got up and disappeared into the bathroom. Garrus wondered why she was so nervous.

"Spirits, what did you tell her? I'm not going to eat her." Solana said with a trill that said that she felt slightly insulted.

"Well, the last contact she had with our family was with father calling her an 'it' to send away." Garrus growled at that memory.

"Oh _futuo_, I guess then it's understandable." Solana shook her head and then straightened up. "Listen, I tried to contact you before but father was monitoring everything I did and blocked every message I tried to send you. I can only contact you now because he is out of range."

"What do you mean, out of range?"

"They passed through the relay, mother and father are on their way to the Citadel." Solana said.

Garrus felt like something had hit him on the head. "What? He's coming here? Why?"

Solana threw her head back. "Don't be stupid, brother. You know our father, he wants to have a nice, friendly talk about the errors of your way." Her subharmonics were openly mocking him. "And he brought mother along for some extra friendly psychological warfare."

Garrus felt a deeply instinctual flight reaction and had to get up to pace in front of his window. "If they just passed through the relay, they'll be here in three days."

Solana looked thoughtful. "Well... I had to hack his encryption first, that algorithm took more than half a day. So I think they will be there in about two days."

Garrus trilled in disbelieve. "Since when do you know how to hack?"

Solana answered with a harsh growl. "Since when do you know nothing about me and what I do anymore? Oh right, since you left!"

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry, Solana." Garrus sang his embarrassment, he had truly neglected his sister. They had been close when he had lived on Palaven, even when he was in the military they had stayed closely in contact. But when he had left for the Citadel, contacting her felt like having his old life intrude on his new life, and he avoided talking to her because of that. "Could you get a private address, where I can contact you without father knowing about it?"

"You know how he is, he wants to know everything about what we do at all times. It has gotten even worse now that you denied his decretum." Solana made a long sigh. "But I'll try. You should get one too, don't think he wouldn't try to monitor yours as well."

"Yes, I will. Contact me with your new address and I will call you on that one from my new address." Garrus fluttered his mandibles in a wide smile, it felt good to talk to his sister again. "Thank you for warning me."

"What are you going to do?" Solana asked with a sad chirp.

"I have to face him." Garrus growled.

"Spoken like a true turian. You better prepare your human girlfriend for the storm of unfriendliness coming her way." Solana trilled a farewell and ended the call.

Garrus stopped pacing and looked out of his window. The glass was turning dark again, dimming the lights from the Citadel and the Nebula. He suddenly felt very tired but full of unspent energy at the same time. Soft steps behind him made him turn around. Shepard came up to his side, leaning her head against his arm.

"So, that was your sister." She stated.

Garrus put his arm around her and pulled her close to his side. "Yes, she warned me that my father and my mother will be here in about two days."

"To visit you?" Shepard asked.

Garrus snorted at that. "Yeah, right. More to yell at me for disrespecting my family and to convince me that I should be a good turian and find a turian mate."

"Now that sounds like fun." Shepard said sarcastically. "I better find a place to stay then to avoid them."

Garrus was shocked. What did she mean by that? She was leaving him to let him face his parents alone? "I thought... aren't you going to stay with me?"

Shepard freed herself from his arm and turned to face him. "I'm not fighting with your father. That's a fight I cannot win. I know that may look cowardly to a turian but I really see no point in talking to him. He won't change his opinion just because we look so nice together."

"But he will be attacking you and everything that humans stand for! You have to defend yourself." Garrus felt like the ground was falling out under him. He couldn't understand her.

Shepard crossed her arms in front and looked angrily at him. "Why? His opinion of me doesn't matter to me. I don't care what he thinks of me or humans in general. I'm with you, not him and if he hates me that is his problem, not mine. I'm sorry that you have to suffer from him but I don't care what he thinks."

Garrus threw his hands up, how could she say things like that? "That is my family you are talking about. Those people define who I am."

Shepard looked confused. "_You_ define who you are, not your father or your mother or aunt or whatnot. Only you and your actions define who you are."

She began pacing in front of him. "If there is one thing that I learned, it's that people don't change. They don't change their opinion unless they want to. You father is not coming here to be convinced by us, he's coming here to vent his anger and I don't see why I should let him yell at me. Nobody yells at me."

Garrus felt anger rise in him. "This is not as easy as you think."

Shepard shook her head. "I think it's very easy. Why do you let your father walk all over you like that?"

"You don't understand what family and clan mean to a turian." His voice was louder than he had intended to.

Shepard's eyes narrowed to angry slits. "Because I don't have one? Is that what you're trying to say?"

Garrus knew she was unfair. "Have you told your aunt about me? What did she say?"

"Why does it matter?" She turned her back to him.

It was just like he had thought. While he was breaking up with his family, becoming an outcast from his clan, she had not even told her one relative that she had a turian as a boyfriend. "You are such a hypocrite!" He yelled. "You expect me to abandon my family but you can't even admit to your aunt that your boyfriend is a turian."

"You really think that of me?" Shepard had raised her voice as well.

"What else can I think? Have you told her? Have you?" He was yelling loudly now and in the second he realized how wrong that was, he saw Shepard's face harden.

Her voice was dangerously quiet. "Nobody yells at me like that. Nobody."

He couldn't stop himself. "Tell me!"

"What's the point?" She snarled and grabbing her vest from the back of the couch, she ran out of the door.

The door closed behind her and he was left standing in the middle of his living room, alone with his anger.

()()()

* * *

_I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Here, have a cookie, we'll get through this together._


	21. Chapter 21

_Here we are again. Now, let's fix this mess._

_Thanks to Credete for editing ._

_Fair warning: Hardcore relationship talks up ahead. Oh, and smut. Yeah._

* * *

()()()

Anger still burning inside of him, he stared at the door. How dare she? As soon as things didn't go her way she just left. How cowardly of her. That went right along with her unwillingness to face his father with him. It looked like his old instructors had been right after all, humans were cowards and had no honor.

Something inside of him recoiled at these thoughts and his anger was replaced by a gut clenching uncertainty. What was happening to them? He always felt so in tune with her that it was deeply unsettling to have lost that connection now. Why did she not see what it meant to break with his family like that?

_Because you never told her, never explained it to her, you stupid turian._

His anger was slowly superseded by a feeling of despair growing in his chest, making him keen in sadness.

He leaned his back against the window, overwhelmed from his conflicting feelings. He was angry at her for just leaving like that, he was angry at himself that he had never explained this and he felt so very afraid that he might have lost her.

Garrus looked around, the sad keen filling his gizzard. Her armor lay stacked in a corner and he noticed her shoes and socks next to the couch. Had she run out without shoes? She was out there in the Tayseri Ward on bare feet?

He finally got control of his limbs and put his armor back on. He needed to find her, needed to tell her why all this was so important. He should have told her right away.

He left his building and stood in front of the entrance, unsure which direction to take. Where could she have gone? She could have taken a skycar or the transit train out of the ward but he hoped that she was still around.

After looking around helplessly for a few minutes he finally remembered the tracing programs on his omni-tool from his time at C-Sec. They were not quite legal but very helpful. He called up Shepard's omni-tool signature and set the trace up for it. The result would not give him her exact position but would at least tell him the general area.

With a beep the program showed him a circle superimposed on the map of the Tayseri Ward, very close to his current position. He sighed in relief, at least she didn't walk far on her naked feet. He had no idea if her feet would hurt from the rough surface on the walkways. Turian feet were plated. The top of their feet was a bit more sensitive than the underside, but not like human feet. From what he had seen he knew that Shepard's feet were just as soft skinned as her hands.

He looked around and began walking to the right, following the walkway to a little shopping area. There was a bakery there that sold human coffee and sure enough that's where he found her. She was sitting at one of the small, circular tables, her naked feet crossed under her chair. Her shoulders were hunched forward and she looked smaller, as if she tried to disappear. She stared at something on her omni-tool, her hands wrapped around her steaming coffee cup.

He couldn't describe the feeling welling up in him but he felt like the ground became uneven all of a sudden, making him stagger.

Garrus took a deep breath and made his way over to her. He sat down on the chair opposite to her. She didn't look up. They sat in silence for a long time, him looking at her, her not looking at him. She sat still like a statue.

He tentatively trilled a little love note at her, testing for her reaction. He saw her fingers tighten around her cup. When she started speaking, her voice was hoarse and quiet like a whisper. "I feel like it should be raining."

He had no idea what she was talking about. "Rain? On the Citadel?"

A tiny smile played on her lips. "I know it can't rain on the Citadel but it would fit the cliché so much. Like in an old romance movie, sitting in the rain, my hair stuck to my wet face, you would sit down beside me, trying to mend the broken pieces..."

He felt a painful stab in his chest. "Are we broken, Jane?"

"You yelled at me, I... don't like that." She said, her voice stronger now.

"Why?"

"Why I don't like getting yelled at? No special reason..." She looked him in the eyes now. "I think it shows a tremendous amount of disrespect, yelling at someone. It means that you don't consider that person worthy of talking to, you think that person is below you, too dumb to listen to you."

Garrus stared at her in shock. "No! I would never think that of you! I was..." He noticed that his voice got louder again and stopped himself. After a long, deep breath and a clearing growl from his gizzard he started again. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Jane. I didn't mean to be disrespectful, I was just so angry. Maybe turians have a different anger response than humans."

Shepard looked up and regarded him with her childlike curiosity again. "Maybe you're right. I shouldn't impose my human conceptions on a turian, I guess. But I..." She sighed. "I'm sorry Garrus, I really don't know what I'm doing. All I know about is one-night stands and friends with benefits. This... what we have... I have no idea what to do with that."

He carefully placed his hand next to her coffee cup and after a second her hand slid down to rest on his. "I don't know either, Jane, we have to figure this out as we go. Please come back home, so we can talk about this. I will not yell at you."

She showed him the screen of her omni-tool. "I did some reading about turians and what family and clan mean to them. Maybe I should have done that before..." She scrolled through some information, stopping on a graphical family tree. "I had no idea. I'm sorry that I never cared for that. There seems to be some fundamental difference at work here."

"When you didn't want to face my father with me I felt... betrayed. I would never think of you as a cowardly person but it felt like it for me." Garrus said.

"I didn't realize how important that was for you." Shepard said and then made a tiny, apologetic trill.

He wanted to take her in his arms so badly. His chest was aching for her.

She looked at him again, a strange look in her eyes. "Can you actually be a turian with me?"

"What do you mean?" Garrus asked with a surprised trill.

She made a vague gesture towards the translucent screen on her arm. "The way turians are described here... it doesn't sound like you at all. You are always so careful, sensitive..." She looked at him quizzically. "Do you have to alter who you really are all the time? Can you even be a turian with me?"

"Not a good one, I guess." He chuckled but stopped himself when he saw the hurt in her face. "No, that's not... Spirits, I'm going at this all wrong. I have never been a very good turian, I've been refusing the 'turian way' for a while now. A lot of things you read on the Net is based on old legends, stereotypes, I never felt like those applied to me. I like who I am with you."

She squeezed his hand for a second and her smile warmed his heart. "I'm so glad to hear that. Because I really like who you are." She got up. "I'm sorry I ran away like that. Can we go home now?"

"You think you can walk all the way back with your feet like that?"

She looked down on her feet and wiggled her toes. "Why, because I don't wear shoes? Sure I can walk, as long as I don't step on something sharp and small I'm fine."

They walked back to his apartment, side by side.

Garrus shook his head. "But your feet are sensitive. I mean, I remember the things you do to my spurs with your feet," a deep groan left his gizzard at that memory, "and you can still walk over terrain like that?"

"Humans have been running around barefoot for thousands of years before the invention of shoes." Shepard said with a smile. "I told you, human skin is sensitive but not algesic." She looked up to him and let her smile linger.

He was so glad to see her smile again.

Suddenly she looked past him and her face turned serious. "There is that guy again. The turian who's been following us around. I've had enough of this!" She ran over to the guy, her naked feet almost completely silent on the ground. The turian didn't even realize at first that she was speeding towards him and when he noticed it, he hurriedly tried to get away. He sidled around a corner but Shepard and Garrus were right behind him.

Shepard slowed down and showed him her friendliest smile, "Hello there! We just want to talk to you."

The turian looked around nervously but he seemed to realize that he couldn't really get away. "What do you want?" He asked aggressively.

Shepard still showed her smile, friendly, with a hint of deadliness. "We have noticed that you are following us and we would like to know who ordered you to do so." She stood in front of him and Garrus behind her, a step to the side. The turian had nowhere to go.

The man looked around and, failing to see an escape route, took a step towards Shepard. He hissed at her, "I don't know what you're talking about." His subharmonics were full of disgust and Garrus felt anger rise against him, that he was insulting Shepard this way.

Shepard stood perfectly still, unfazed by the turian coming so close to her. She held her arms to the side and it looked relaxed but Garrus noticed that her body was tense, like a predator, ready to attack. Her voice was perfectly calm. "We have you on video. I wonder how much you would like to spend a day at C-Sec, explaining why you followed a C-Sec officer and an Alliance officer around all day."

The turian didn't say anything but his subharmonics were practically screaming curses at her. Suddenly he took a step back and then lashed out with his talons towards Shepard's throat. Garrus saw to his horror that his talons were not blunted. He jumped forward and called out a warning to her but she had already ducked under his arms and blocked his attack by hitting his arms hard with her lower arm. Her other arm smacked forward and punched the turian in his waist. Buckling over in pain, he tried to slash her with his talons again but she was already gone. She had stepped away with a graceful turn and now jerked her leg up and kicked the turian on his mandible with her heel so fast, that Garrus didn't even see her leg move.

The turian crashed against the wall from the force of the kick and slipped down on his side in a daze. A wail left his throat but he swallowed it in panic as he realized that Shepard had come up behind him and held a knife to his throat. Garrus loomed over him growling a warning but he felt slightly dumbfounded, it all had happened so fast.

Shepard's voice was quiet in a chilling way and she spoke directly into the stalkers ear canal. "Now let's try this again. I happen to know where I need to cut you so that you bleed out in under three minutes and I suggest that you don't test me. Who paid you to follow us around?"

The turian had lost control of his subharmonics, crying like a child in panic. He was moving his hands but a slight stab that drew a bit of blue blood on his throat stopped him. Suddenly he looked at Garrus. "Got a call. He didn't say his name, transferred the money," he pointed at Garrus, "sent me a picture of him and said to look for him and a human woman and take video footage."

Shepard was silent for a second and then asked, "Was it a vid-call?"

"Yes."

"What did he look like?"

The turian looked up at Garrus again. "Looked like him, same markings."

Garrus cursed under his breath. So his suspicion had been right, his own father had hired the stalker. A stalker who had tried to attack and maybe even kill Shepard, his Shepard! A deep, angry growl left his gizzard and he saw the other turian's eyes widen in fear.

Shepard stepped back from the man and held the knife loosely in her hand. "You can go now. I'm sure we are not going to see you again, right?" The turian nodded and stood up slowly. Shepard looked at her knife, letting the light reflect on it and she spoke like she didn't really care if anybody listens. "I want you to tell him that the next person following us will come back to him with a hefty hospital bill attached." The light made a bright streak on her face and she had a smile playing on her lips that brought a chill to Garrus's spine. "Now you better go before I think of new ways to use this knife on you." She said and turned away.

Garrus fell in step beside her, looking at her face. With relief he saw the mad smile fall from her face and get replaced by her real smile that he loved so much. It was like she switched out her personality.

He lowered his head and nuzzled her hair for a second. "You can be quite scary."

She laughed. "It's just an act, the insane, cold killer-lady is much more disturbing than the righteous Alliance soldier. Scares the guys who think they are so tough. But I love how you only have to do that sub-growl to make someone piss his pants in fear."

"I think that was more your doing." Garrus said honestly. He never wanted to be on the receiving end of that mad smile.

She laughed, "Nah, I can tell you from experience that this performance worked much better with your turian madness backing me up."

"He's going to tell my father that you are insane and dangerous." Garrus said with a sigh.

"That's a reputation I can live with." She shrugged. Suddenly she looked up. "Is that going to make things more difficult for you?"

"Can I say it can hardly get any worse without sounding like a whining youngling?" He sighed dramatically.

Her laugh calmed his mind like a warm shower. She smiled, "Oh, you just have to do that terrifying growl to go along with it to compensate." Her hands moved up to his face but she stopped midway when she realized that they were back on the busy walkway. She dropped her hand with a sad smile. "Let's go home."

"Yes." He looked down on her feet. "I could carry you if your feet hurt."

She grinned, "Hey, I just kicked a spiky turian with these feet, the walkway has nothing on me."

"That was quite impressive actually, do you have some secret biotic force behind those kicks?"

She waved her hand. "Nah, Taekwondo, remember? I'm a well trained kick-ass."

They kept on walking and the silence between them began to unnerve Garrus. He looked down on her face, she was chewing on her lower lip. He decided to break the silence and address the pink volus in the room. "We need to talk about this problem with my family."

She sighed, "Yes, we have to. I guess I'm missing some vital piece of information here." She squeezed his hand for a second. "There was a post on the Net that said that the movie "Fleet and Flotilla" would be good way to introduce the subject. We could watch that."

"My father has actually tried to forbid me from watching that movie." Garrus said with an embarrassed trill.

"Really? Forbid you?"

"Yes, I heard that a lot of traditional turians want to ban the movie for poisoning young turians minds. My father plays right along to that song." Garrus shook his head, thinking back to that conversation.

They had arrived at his apartment building. As they waited for the elevator, Garrus had to ask the one question that was burning on his mind. "Shepard? I'm sorry, I have to know, did you tell your aunt about me?"

Shepard looked up to him. "Yes, I wrote her after we had seen the Consort." She scratched the back of her head. "She wrote me right back. She reacted just as you would expect someone to react who hasn't even left her hometown in all of her life. The only reason why she isn't constantly calling me is because I always block her calls."

Garrus felt like an idiot. "Doesn't that bother you?"

"No, it really doesn't." Shepard took his hand as they stepped into the elevator. "She is who she is. She is not stupid but she is a bit ignorant. Has never seen an alien in her life. She's not going to change all of a sudden, so I'm not fighting about it with her."

"I... I'm afraid I can't be that... removed. Maybe that is a fundamental difference between humans and turians." Garrus said.

"Not necessarily. In some human cultures family is still very important. For me..." She hesitated, like she always did when the subject came to the death of her family. "Not anymore."

They arrived at his place. As soon as the door had closed behind them, Garrus took her by her shoulders and pressed his forehead against her. Her hands went up to his face and were stroking his mandibles. Slowly the tension fell off both of them.

After a few minutes they pulled apart. Shepard went into the bathroom to wash her feet while Garrus took his off armor and put on a plain long tunic.

When she came back, she stood in the middle of the room, as if she was unsure what to do. Garrus stepped over to her and carefully pulled her into his arms. She relaxed against him with a long sigh. He let his subharmonics rumble in deep vibrations and felt her press closer to him.

He put his talons under her chin and lifted her head to look at her. "Is there any way that we can salvage this evening?"

Her smile lit up her face. "Well, I'm hungry and I heard there is a movie I should be watching."

He smiled back at her. "That sounds like an excellent combination. Let me provide you with all that you wish for." He went into the kitchen area, hearing her feet softly pitter-pattering on the floor behind him. He suddenly felt her hand on his butt and made a tiny shriek.

She giggled. "You are wearing a dress again." Her hand moved under the rim of his tunic. "And no pants! Naughty little turian."

"It's a tunic, a perfectly normal piece of clothing for a turian. We don't necessarily need pants because we don't leave our genitals dangling out there unprotected." He fluttered his mandibles towards her in a grin. Her hand kept on resting on his naked butt and her fingers were drawing tiny circles between his plates. It was very distracting.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Something with cheese." She said, looking past his side.

"What is cheese? Humans eat it a lot, I've noticed." Garrus picked a package of readymade food for her and himself and placed it in the radiant heater.

Shepard looked thoughtful for a second, "Cheese is made of milk and... well... it gets old and thick and milk is... you know what? You really don't want to know, trust me."

She snuggled up against his side and Garrus pulled her closer with his arm draped around her. In that moment Garrus was convinced that everything would be okay. There would always be interspecies awkwardness, things that were weird and strange to the other but they would not let those things keep them apart.

He nuzzled her hair and whispered, "We will work things out, right?"

She pressed her cheek against his cowl. "Yes we will. We will work things out, again and again."

Garrus hummed his love for her with his subharmonics.

* * *

The credits of "Fleet and Flotilla" appeared on the vid screen and Jane turned to Garrus.

"Okay, nice romantic movie, I'm a total sucker for happy endings anyway but, revolutionary? The turian guy did his own thing for the love of his life, and for that message traditionals want to ban the movie? I don't get it, he didn't do anything unusual, I think."

Garrus stared at her. He saw quite a lot of parallels to his own life in that movie and it baffled him that Jane didn't see it. "He denied his parents decretum, they had a beneficial match and a promising career set up for him and he turned away from that to be with her!" He could hardly put into words how incredible that was.

Jane furrowed her brows and said with determination, "So he didn't do what his father wanted and set out to find his own path - that's what youth does! That's how it's supposed to be, the young ones question the old rules and traditions and mix things up and that's how society can progress."

Garrus had to laugh. "Really? That's normal for humans? That explains so much!" He shook his head. "Our society is built on strict rules. Parents plan their children's life until they are mated themselves. To turn away from that, to deny the decretum was - until very recently - unthinkable. It's not the turian way. For a young turian to go against his family could result in him or her being expelled from the clan."

Jane looked at him. "You keep saying that, deny the decretum. What exactly does that mean?"

"A decretum is like an order in the military. It's unthinkable to not follow it. To deny it is like an insubordination against your commanding officer." He searched her face and for a second he saw panic cross her face.

"So if you deny it, your family or your clan could exile you?" She looked at him with astonishment. He nodded. She stayed quiet for a while, and Garrus saw the emotions flicker across her face. "What happens to an exile?" She asked quietly.

"An exile will lose everything, his history, his heritage, his friends will turn away from him. It used to be practically unthinkable that a turian would risk that. We are raised in the believe that we are nothing without our clan, without the guidance of the elders." Garrus wanted to say something to wipe away the look of horror on her face but he couldn't think of anything.

She didn't look at him when she spoke again with her voice hushed. "How do you progress if the rules never change? We had societies on Earth that considered women to be lesser creatures than cattle, with no chance to ever do something with their lives." She began moving her arms and hands as if she was trying to pluck words from the air. "There have been times in our history where your place in society was determined by your skin colour, gender, place of birth. Hell, 300 years ago, we still had slavery! But as new generations grew up these things changed and we progressed. We became better people. And we still fight prejudices and the youth still fights against rules they don't understand, and the old ones complain about the young ones and say how everything was so much better back in the old days. And that is a good thing, it's how it's supposed to be, because it is change!" Her voice had gotten louder towards the end and she ended her sentence with her arms wide, like she wanted to embrace all the changes.

Garrus felt like he had learned everything he ever needed to know about humans from these sentences. Why they were so curious, so demanding, always questioning the rules. He loved how confident she looked.

He needed to assure her that turians weren't frozen in time. "Things are changing in turian society too, only very slowly. The first time when the rules had to be adapted was when the asari appeared and the quarians after that. Turians falling in love with someone from another species was a huge thing, Spirits, I don't think turians even had a concept of romantic love before the asari appeared. And if the enormous success of, "Fleet and Flotilla" with young turians proves anything, it's that turians are beginning to like the idea of rebelling against old rules."

She looked at him and he felt like falling into her gaze. The expression on her face showed sadness and love and pure panic, and the combination made his gizzard clench in fear. He knew what she was about to say and he didn't want to hear it.

"I'm sorry Garrus, I never meant for this to happen. I never realized that I took you away from your life, your family. You have a family, a clan! Being with me..." Her voice broke, "being with me will make you lose all that. I can't do that to you!" She moved to get up.

"Stop!" He called out much louder than he had intended. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and took her hands in his. "You are not walking away again. Don't do that to me, Jane. Hear me out."

She settled down and nodded, her eyes slightly wet.

"I have been trying to get away from my family and all the rules for the longest time. I tried to find a balance, talking to my mother and my sister but staying out of reach of my father here on the Citadel." Garrus had to sigh. "Of course, that was an illusion, he got me this job at C-Sec, so that I wouldn't enter Spectre training, and I'm sure he had people send him reports about my doings all the time. I should have made my seperation more clear to him, I should never have done any of the praecipit convenire he kept arranging. I tried to live two lives at once, being a good turian son and being me."

Shepard had a faint smile on her lips and he felt so happy to see that, and he pulled her towards him. He held his forehead against hers and sighed when he felt her press back at him. The relief fell over him like a warm cloak.

"I had this great life here on the Citadel, with Frank as my best friend and all the fun I could wish for. It was easy to forget that the old Palaven rules could catch up with me one day."

Shepard laughed quietly. "Judging by how we met, I can just imagine what kind of fun you're talking about."

"You would know it, I'm sure." He growled.

She snickered. "Oh yes." She moved closer to him and kissed his mandible. "Let's not talk about our naughty past. When your father arrives, what would you like me to do?"

Garrus nuzzled her hair before moving back to look her in the eyes. "I would like you to be here with me. Don't hide, don't make him think that you aren't brave enough to face him."

"That's what he would think?" She asked. "Alright, if you want me to stand by your side, I will, but I won't just stand here and let him yell at me. If all he does is yelling, I'll leave."

"He will still think of you as cowardly then." Garrus warned.

"As I said, I don't care. He won't like me, no matter what I do. He thinks me a coward? Why should I care? Nothing I do will change his mind. What is there to gain in a fight like this?" She asked.

Garrus searched for an explanation to try to make her see his point. Suddenly it came to him, Shepard was a soldier after of all. "Sometimes it's not about gaining ground, sometimes it's about holding the line."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "Holding the line? Yeah, I get that." Her hand caressed his mandible. "Angel, I will do anything you want me to, but do you really think you can convince him to accept us being together?"

Garrus felt his shoulders sag in defeat. "Somehow, I still think I can talk to him but in the back of my mind I know that he will not change his mind."

Her face came closer to his and while her hand was still playing on his mandible, she placed soft kisses on his face. "If you want me to hold the line with you, I will, my Angel." Another soft kiss on his mandibles sent shivers down in his gizzard. "Now, let me loosen up those tight mandibles, and other things."

Her voice had that husky, deep undertone that drove him wild and he felt his lower plates almost snap open. Her hand touched him and a finger was tracing the slit. His erection was already working itself free.

She turned to a box on the couchtable and took out a bottle with lotion. He had completely forgotten that she had ordered the plate-softening lotion.

She squeezed some on her hands and rubbed it over the skin of his thighs and over his genital plates. Her fingers now slick with lotion traced along his opening slit and she moved two fingers inside, tracing his penis while her other hand was stroking his waist. Her lips now had his mandible between them and she was sucking on it. The sensations overwhelmed him, his subharmonic growl vibrating through him.

"Oh yes, keep doing that, growl for me." She whispered. He kept his gowl going and she shuddered against him. He licked along her jaw till he had reached her earlobe, flicking it with his tongue. With a growl of her own she turned her face and kissed him under his eye. She moved down with her kisses and found his mouth waiting for hers. Their tongues met, softly dipping against each other.

They both began to grab each other, desperately, urgently, craving the touch of the other. She had pushed his tunic up and he pulled it over his head. Her clothing was in the way and he still struggled with taking it off. Lucky for him, Shepard was just as impatient, pulling her shirt over her head and pushing her pants down in a quick motion. Her bra fell down and Garrus pulled her underpants down, noticing with a pleased hum how they were soaked.

He traced his tongue down towards her stomach, determined to finally get more familiar with that little dip, belly button, as she called it. Circling the tip of his tongue around it, she suddenly squirmed and laughed and grabbed his head. With a high pitched voice she screamed, "That tickles! Tickles!" She was wiggling like a fish and Garrus had to laugh out. With a scream she jumped on him and tackled him down.

Her one hand was massaging his pleasure spot under his fringe, the other hand travelled down again towards his erection that had long since come out from his plates. She was holding him, slowly pumping while she twirled her tongue around his mandible. The sounds that came from his throat sounded feral even to himself, and he noticed that she stared at him.

He tried to break through the fog of lust, his voice hoarse, "I'm sorry. I usually don't sound like that."

She made a purring sound that sounded like pure sex before she spoke. "You know I like it when you're loud." Her hand still had him in a firm grip, very slowly rubbing him. She pressed her mouth against his throat and he felt her lips move as she spoke, "I love the sounds you make. You sound so wild. You should lose control like that more often."

His breath hitched in his throat. "That's not a good idea, I could hurt you."

Her body pressed against him, her mouth next to his face, she whispered, "I trust you. Don't stop yourself." Suddenly she pulled hard on his fringe while pumping his penis in quick strokes.

The pain from his fringe clashed with the sweet sensation from his groin and with a feral roar he threw her to the ground. Pure lust focused on her. She crashed on the floor but she kept squeezing his fringe hard, her other hand had moved to his waist, holding onto him with force and with a harsh groan he sheathed himself inside her. His mouth went to her neck on pure instinct, open, hungry for her, he pressed his teeth on her collarbone. His last bit of self-control held him back and he didn't bite down but the damage was already done. His sharp teeth had scraped her skin and he saw with shock her red blood bubble out of the wound.

"I'm sorry, Jane, let me..." He moved back but she wouldn't let him go, her legs wrapped tight around him. With an angry snarl she pulled herself up to him and before he could even think she had her mouth on his neck and bit down. A feral growl came from her as she bit harder and harder. It hurt like hell, her blunt teeth squeezing the skin until she finally broke it and drew blood. She pulled back with a triumphant grin, a wild look in her eyes, blue blood dripping from her lips. She grinned at him and quietly spoke. "Are you a turian?"

He could only nod. She dipped her finger in a drop of blood in the corner of her lip and drew a line with it from under her right eye over her nose to her left eye. "Then be a turian. My turian!" She whispered hoarsely.

His world disappeared. The sounds his subharmonics made were foreign even to himself. Some removed part of him was astonished at the loss of his higher brain functions. The more basic part of him took in her scent and roared as he penetrated her deep and hard. He was driving into her, pushing her across the floor with his force. Vaguely he noted that she was screaming in pleasure, encouraging him with shouts of, "More!," her hands clawing on his arms and shoulders. She pulled his head down again, pressed her collarbone against his mouth and he bit down. Her scream of pain mixed with a cry of pleasure as she clenched around him, hauling him along with his first orgasm but he didn't even slow down.

She held onto him, meeting every thrust with a push of her own hips, panting, yelling incoherently. He roared with her, his throat raw, the metalic taste of her blood in his mouth. His talons scratched her skin, her nails scratched him, she bit him again, her toes held his spurs. She dipped a finger in the bitemark on her shoulder and drew a line across his nose with her blood. That was not a turian tradition and as far as he knew it wasn't a human one either. But this was a mark, if there ever was one.

_She marked me with her own blood!_

He felt the contractions in her vagina getting tighter as he pushed harder and faster, and the tight grip around his penis from her insides made it almost painful to move. He thrust into her as she screamed and clawed at him and he came again, hard, his seed bursting out of him. He was growling her name and he heard her whimper his. She still held onto him and his arms were shaking from the exhaustion. With a groan he collapsed to his side, pulling her along with him without leaving her body. They were both heaving in air. He still felt her contractions.

She snuggled up against him and softly kissed along his cowl, her hand drawing lazy circles on his waist. Occasionally she made a satisfied sigh and pressed even closer to him. Garrus felt himself slowly return to his full brain capabilities. He still had the taste of her blood in his mouth and he carefully lifted his head to look at her shoulder. Puncture marks from his teeth dotted her shoulder and bloody scratches were all over her skin. He cringed. She noticed his reaction and looked at him sternly.

"Don't you dare apologize." She said. "I wanted this, it was amazing. I would have told you to stop if I had not wanted it."

"I'm not sure I would have heard you." Garrus whispered. "I was not thinking clearly anymore, there was only you and this desire..."

She purred. "Hmm, you make a girl feel wanted."

"I thought the wanting was kind of obvious." Garrus purred back at her.

She chuckled and moved, to slowly let him slip out. She had grabbed her shirt and held it between her legs, soaking up their juices. "One of these days we should have sex in your bed."

"Says the wild human, who tackled me to the floor."

Shepard grinned at him. "I didn't hear any complaints." She yawned. "I think we should go to sleep now."

He pulled himself up to stand beside her. "I agree, let's get ready for bed." He looked at her face, the blue line of his blood still bright on her skin. Carefully he traced the line with his talon. He didn't want to say that he wished that the mark wouldn't get off.

He felt her finger tracing her bloody line on his face. She raised herself on her tiptoes and kissed him. She took his hand and pulled him behind her into the bathroom. As she stopped in front of the mirror, he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her. They both looked at their faces in the mirror, each painted with the others blood.

He burned the picture into his mind, to never forget it.

()()()

* * *

_Happy?_

_A few notes:_

_1. Jane doesn't like getting yelled at, just because. No, Jane is not a tragic survivor of a yelling rapist or anything like that, I'm really, really tired of the 'every strong woman is a rape survivor'-trope, so our Jane here is not that. Seeing your family die at 16 is bad enough, we don't have to add to that. She came to be a strong woman on her own._

_2. Jane likes it rough sometimes. Which means in no way ever that we will enter some 50-shades-of-abuse territory here, no and no and No._

_3. The act with painting each others faces with blood was inspired by Chapter 3 of 'Violence, Voyeurism and Vigilantes' by efleck, better written of course, such an awesome scene in a great story._


	22. Chapter 22

_So, I was in the hospital, as one does to get her appendix taken out. I didn't have access to my laptop and I was bored and I had story in my head, so I had to write the first half of this chapter with a pencil on paper like a cavewoman! Twentyseven pages, over 4800 words, written by hand. Can you believe it? I think the last time I wrote so much by hand was sometime in the eighties. Because we didn't have computers, kids!_

* * *

()()()

The annoying beeping of his omni-tool woke Garrus from a deep sleep. His bedroom was bright, the windows transparent and the omnipresent light of the Widow-Nebula streaming in.

After a few seconds he registered the beeping and realized that someone was ringing his door. He called up the picture and saw Nihlus waving at the door-camera. Garrus hesitated shortly but eventually issued the command for opening the door. Nihlus strode in, his subharmonics singing a cheerful greeting. Garrus answered with a more quiet tune. Beside him, wrapped up in her blanket, Shepard stirred.

Garrus pushed his blanket away. Having his own blanket had proven to be necessary, Shepard always wrapped herself completely in her blanket like in a cocoon. He moved over to her, raking his talons through her hair. He whispered in her ear, "Hey, sunshine, we have to get up." Her eyes sprung open, her body suddenly tense. But then she relaxed, recognizing the situation as not dangerous. She groaned roughly and pulled the blanket over her head.

In this moment Nihlus stormed into the room, still singing while he loudly called out, "Good morning, my little lovebirds!"

Shepard groaned annoyed and Garrus chuckled. "Unless you have brought coffee, I would advise you to be more quiet."

Nihlus just laughed, "But of course I brought coffee, I would not dare to meet the human krogan otherwise."

Shepard made a short grunt, "Alright, I'm getting up."

Garrus climbed out of bed with her but Nihlus put a hand on his arm to hold him back while Shepard left the room. He turned to Nihlus with a questioning trill and was taken aback by the anger Nihlus sounded at him.

With an angry hiss, Nihlus pushed Garrus back on the bed and loomed over him. "You stercus eating paedor, what were you thinking?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me, you hurt her, bit her, scratched her, you unplated piece of..."

Garrus raised his hands. "She wanted me to..."

"She wanted you to hurt her? Don't tell me such futuo! You unworthy..."

A commanding voice came from the door. "Stop it, Nihlus."

Shepard stepped over to them, white toothpaste on her lips. "Garrus didn't do anything I didn't want. He never would, I know that." She placed her hand on the cowl of his armor and pushed him away from Garrus. "I wanted him to be rough, I wanted him to be a turian with me." Nihlus stared at her, his subharmonics confused and astonished. "Look, it's just a few scratches, we put medi-gel on them last night, they will be healed in no time. Now, can you please let my man live?" She grinned at him and with a warm smile to Garrus, left for the bathroom again.

Nihlus took a deep breath and turned to Garrus to offer his hand, to pull him up again. He trilled an apology that Garrus acknowledged with a hum of his own.

Nihlus grabbed his lower arm and looked him in the eyes. "I hope you know how lucky you are."

Garrus nodded, "I know, sometimes I can't really believe it."

Nihlus sang another apology. "I shouldn't have assumed... you are not that kind of person." They both heard the shower start in the next room.

"Don't be so fast in your dismissal." Garrus said with a sigh. "We had a fight last night and things didn't look so good for a while. I yelled at her..."

"Oh, futuo, she really doesn't like that!" Nihlus called out. "What did you fight about?"

"My parents are coming to the Citadel to see me and somehow we had different ideas of how to deal with that."

"Different?"

"She didn't want to face my father with me. She thought there is no point because he wouldn't change his opinion anyway."

Nihlus nodded. "And you thought she would leave you alone with him out of cowardice."

Garrus felt ashamed. "Yes, I felt betrayed. She is normally so fearless, why would she shy away from this confrontation?"

A thoughtful hum came from Nihlus. "Humans have a different view of fights. They will enter a hopeless fight to save someone but they will always question if there is a good reason for it. If they feel like there is nothing to gain, they will mostly avoid it. Human commanders have a lot of troubles with soldiers who refuse to follow an order without some proper explanation."

A surprised trill left Garrus, to not follow an order, what an astonishing idea.

He pulled on a tunic and sighed. "We talked about it, she did some research and I think she got the idea that I couldn't be like a real turian with her. She got really wild last night, she bit me first." He leaned his head to the side to show Nihlus where she had bitten him and Nihlus made a surprised tone.

"You should put some medi-gel on that, it looks kind of nasty."

Garrus nodded, carefully feeling around the bite. He stepped over to a small mirror to look at the mark himself and cringed. A big, black bruise had formed around the bite. He dug out some medi-gel from his closet and spread it on. With relief he saw the bruise slowly fading.

He turned to Nihlus, calling him back from the door. "Does a bite mean something in human culture?"

Nihlus hummed thoughtfully. "I don't think so but shouldn't you ask Shepard about that?"

Garrus stretched his throat. "You're right. This whole communicating thing turns out to be really important."

Nihlus made a sound that congratulated him on his wisdom with a hint of sarcasm, as he left for the living room.

Garrus followed him. He saw Shepard on the couch in a shirt and pants, her hair still slightly wet, glistening. She held a cup of coffee in her hands and turned to him with a smile.

_Spirits, that smile._

Nihlus placed a few bags on the coffee table and sat down in the armchair. Garrus got himself and Nihlus a cup of cava and refilled Shepard's coffee. As he sat down beside her, she raised her face towards him and placed a kiss on his mandible. He nuzzled her hair in return.

Each of them picked some breakfast pastries from the colorcoded bags. Some lighthearted smalltalk was exchanged between them about current events on the Citadel. The turian teacher Atika Birdan and one of Anderson's staff were organizing another turian/human festival and Shepard's face lit up in excitement.

"I hope we can visit the festival together this time." She said.

Garrus hummed his reassurance at that. The last festival was overshadowed in his memory by the attack on Elysium and his fear that Shepard had been killed.

After they had eaten, a silence began to stretch between them. Nobody wanted to start the uncomfortable conversation about Saren Arterius. Shepard finally ran out of patience.

"Nihlus, we have found some things about Saren that are... disturbing or at least confusing. We need some information from you."

Nihlus trilled uncomfortably. "Some events and assignments are classified, classified by the Council, not even an ANIS investigation gives you access to that."

Shepard nodded, "We know that. But we have some dates we want to check with you." She transferred the list of dates that Garrus and her had written down from memory after their session. "Please check if you accompanied Saren on any of these missions."

Nihlus pulled up his own notes and began to compare. Garrus watched him carefully. Turian faces were not as expressive as human faces, but even turians had certain tells. A twitch of a mandible, a subconscious hum of the subharmonics, those were the tells of turians. Garrus saw that Nihlus was very uncomfortable.

Suddenly a change was visible. Nihlus looked confused and his subharmonics sang out in annoyance. He turned the datapad around so that they all could look on it.

"I was present on most of these official missions. I remember Saren leaving me occasionally and doing things on his own. He was sometimes gone for days. We've stopped at Feros and Noveria but I never left the ship there. He said that he just needed to take care of some things."

Nihlus now enlarged the section of the timeline that involved the Katanga, the ghost ship. "I wasn't with Saren anymore then but I had received a message from him about the dig site."

Garrus trilled his surprise. "He still messaged you? I wouldn't have thought that he still kept contact with you."

Nihlus sounded out that he understood Garrus's confusion. "While Saren is clearly an asshole, as Shepard always puts it, I am probably the closest he has to a friend." Nihlus said with a sad hum. "Even after I became a Spectre, I have received a few messages from him."

Nihlus suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable and Garrus held his breath. He was sure that Nihlus was about to tell them something significant.

"He had invited me on his new ship." Nihlus said. "It's not a ship from the Council and he never answered my questions where he had gotten it. He kept asking me about prothean artifacts. I have never been interested in prothean things, I don't know why he asked me about that." He stretched his throat, showing how uncomfortable this conversation made him. "I got the feeling that he wanted to recruit me for something, but I kept asking questions he never answered. The closer we came to the ship, the more removed he became, distracted. He had new biotic implants, they gave off a strange glow. At some point, when the ship had just come into view, he sent me away. I managed to get a picture from afar."

He projected a slightly fuzzy image on the big screen in front of the window. The ship didn't really look like a ship, Garrus thought.

Shepard was just as surprised as him. "That's a ship? Is something like this in any of the databases?"

Nihlus shook his head. "No, I checked everything, no ship like that has ever been registered."

Garrus zoomed in and tried to improve the picture. He let an algorithm analyze the reflection of the outer materials. It came back with a lot of unknowns, organic/metallic alloys and non-organic structures. He couldn't make sense of it.

Nihlus leaned over to see the results on Garrus's omni-tool. "Don't think I didn't try that. The materials match nothing we know, at least as far as we can tell from the reflections."

Shepard was busily typing on her omni-tool, searching for clues. She tapped one entry and put it on the big screen, next to Nihlus's picture.

"This is an entry about aliens, who have uploaded their minds into virtuality, I don't even understand how that works. But they left their organic bodies behind and transferred themselves." She scratched the corner of her mouth with a fingernail. Something she always did, when she was deep in thought, Garrus had noticed. Sometimes she would catch a fingernail between her teeth, not chewing it, just holding it.

She took the finger from her mouth and pointed it to the screen. "What if they found a way of uploading themselves to machinery? And then, if you merged machinery with organic material, you'd come up with something like this."

Nihlus shook his head, "I think that seems to be a little far fetched. As far as we know, those virtual aliens are peaceful and they only transfer themselves to voluntary organics or pure virtual environments. Something like the scale of this - unheard of."

Shepard looked at Nihlus and then turned to Garrus, her face showing a helpless plea. He realized that she was uncomfortable to ask Nihlus more questions, just like she had been when they were looking up information in the Council's database.

He spoke up. "Nihlus, what is going on with Saren? We have witness reports that he blew up an archeological dig site. He hired a merc ship to raid freighters. That ship has since turned up at the Citadel a few days ago and everyone on board is dead. Even for a Spectre, that is in no way right."

Nihlus's subharmonics broke out in a cacophony of anger, sadness and foreboding. "Honestly, I don't know." He called out. "Saren was always ruthless but he wasn't plain cruel. Hiring a merc ship for raids, that is not his usual manner. He may not have much regard for lives if they interfere with the mission, but sending out mercs to raid freighters... are you sure? Is that witness of yours reliable?"

Shepard answered that question with confidence. "Yes, he's reliable in my opinion."

Nihlus hummed angrily. "Probably one of your damn krogan friends."

Shepard shrugged. "Doesn't change the facts. The ship turned up, full of dead mercs and Saren's DNA was found there. Add the witness account to that and it makes way too much sense to ignore."

Nihlus let out a tune of despair. "He has changed in the last half year, you know? For a while it looked like we were almost friends, he kind of opened up to me. But then we went back to Palaven for a short break between missions." Nihlus got up and stepped over to the window. He stared out to the ward, light reflecting on his face. "He went back to the Arterius estate. It's mostly in ruins after whatever his brother Desolas did there and the place is fenced up. He could have sold it or rebuilt it but he never did. One day he left me and went to the estate. I didn't see him for two days. Then he was back, not a word, nothing about what he had done there. We left shortly afterwards and he was different, more removed. I heard him talking to himself when he thought I was sleeping and he'd never done that before."

Shepard looked thoughtfully at Nihlus and then to Garrus. "I think we can say that Saren is not a madman but something happened on the Arterius estate that changed him." She got up and placed a hand on Nihlus's shoulder. "You said he asked you about prothean things. What did you talk about?"

Nihlus let out a short laugh. "You know, I never cared about the protheans, I'm not interested in their history. They lived 50,000 years ago, I have more pressing concerns today. But they left us the relays and the Citadel so I can't deny that they still have an influence on us. I'm no archeologist, so whenever I find something on a mission, or when Saren and me found something, I called in the scientists. The Council has a group of asari scientists on call for things like that, so I would just relay the message to Council administrations and they would deal with it. But..." Nihlus suddenly looked thoughtful and his second voice called out in surprise. "I've forgotten but now I remember - there was a site on Therum, I think, where he asked me to delay my message to the Council."

"Why were you there originally?" Garrus asked.

"We received a distress call from a mining team that they were getting attacked by pirates. We were in the area so we went to their aid. By the time we arrived at the mining facility, it was almost too late. The whole place was raided and the remaining miners had locked themselves up in the mine. We killed most of the pirates and the rest took off. We managed to secure some of the equipment and called in the mining company, I forgot who it was. When we freed the miners, they showed us some markings and devices they had uncovered. Saren wanted to look at them and asked me to delay the call to the Council. I hadn't even realized that the things looked prothean."

"Did Saren say anything about it later?" Shepard asked.

"No, he didn't talk about it at all. That was shortly after we had been to Palaven and about three months before I became a Spectre." Shepard looked at him thoughtfully and Garrus could see in her face that she still had many questions. But apparently she wanted Nihlus to tell her on his own accord, so she didn't ask him any more.

Nihlus straightened his back and turned away from the window. "Well, my little lovebirds, I have to go. I may have time later, I'll let you know." He said, spreading his mandibles in a smile.

They said their goodbyes and watched him walk out.

Garrus turned to Shepard. "Tell me what you think."

She smiled at him and let her finger drop from the corner of her mouth. Then her expression turned serious again. "I think, he isn't telling us everything. There is something more." She sighed. "He doesn't want to tell me - us, and that disturbs me more than it should." She sat back down beside him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I know he doesn't have to tell me everything, I mean us, but he is my friend, our friend, he should trust us."

Garrus hummed for her and felt her relax against him. "Maybe there are some things he isn't clear about himself. I'm sure he will let us know if he thinks something is important." He tried to sound confident about this but he really wasn't. He didn't know Nihlus well enough that he could read his subharmonics in every nuance.

Shepard turned towards him and in one fluid motion crawled up on him until she straddled him. Her hands were on his face, her thumbs rubbing circles on his mandibles. She placed her lips on his mouth and kissed him. Those soft lips, that adventurous tongue, he loved this so much. The world was slipping away, only the two of them in the light from the Citadel remained, kissing, stroking, moving against each other.

One of her hands was moving along the side of his fringe to the back of his neck as they continued to kiss. Her lips gently sucking on his mouthplates, his tongue dipping in and out of her mouth, a little shock running through them whenever their tongues touched. Her tongue moved along his outer gums, touching, stroking and a deep moan left him. His hands found her hair and the skin on her neck.

She moved like fluid over him, her many fingers igniting every nerve on his skin. His hands crawled under her shirt and he carefully, very lightly let his talons scratch over her back. She arched her back with a joyous sigh. When she leaned forward again, her mouth landed on his neck, planting little kisses there.

Close to his ear she whispered, "We should get going."

He hummed loudly, sounding out his arousal. "Then you should probably stop doing that."

Shepard hummed a low grunt that sounded very much like his own. "I can't, too much beautiful, sexy turian in my hands."

He moved his head back to look at her. "I'm beautiful to you?"

"Yes you are! So beautiful, all hard edges and strong, and that metallic shine... beautiful." Her gaze was travelling over him with awe.

He sang out his love for her with his subharmonics. "That's good because I think you are so beautiful, so soft and rounded, strong and flexible." He was still a bit surprised by that himself, but he truly thought of her as beautiful. He resisted the urge to scent her, so that she wouldn't have to take a shower again.

Her brilliant smile lit up her face and she kissed him again.

He felt his plates loosen and groaned. "Shepard, you need to stop doing that, or we won't be leaving this place for another hour."

She grinned. "Hmm, tempting." With a last peck on his mandible she slid off his lap and went looking for her shoes.

Garrus went into the bathroom for a quick shower to wash off her scent. He also needed some cold water to get his plates to close again. Before they had gone to bed last night, he had had the sense to put his armor into the disinfect closet. As he took the pieces out to snap them on, he looked over to what Shepard was wearing.

Her pants were made of some flexible, thick material, sort of like what her vest was made of. She wore a thin, long sleeved, white shirt with red stripes on the sleeves. She was putting on black boots, snapping them closed and he noticed her hiding a small knife in the shaft.

"Why do you never wear armor?" He asked, snapping on his gauntlets.

She laughed. "Why do _you_always wear armor?"

"Turians always wear armor, it's normal for us. It means that you are always ready to fight, always prepared."

She snickered, "As if you guys aren't already naturally armored and protected against attacks. Hell, you are even armed, if your talons aren't blunted. Of all species beside the krogan, you could run around naked and never be in real danger."

"And you of all species should be in armor all the time, soft and squishy as you are." Garrus said.

She looked at him thoughtfully. "I guess you're right. But so far, no one has developed armor that can be worn all day without getting uncomfortably hot all the time." She raised her hand to touch the skin on his throat. "Turians don't sweat, right?"

"Sweat? What do you mean?"

"Humans regulate their temperature by sweating. Our skin excretes salty water to cool off. You must have noticed that whenever I was, ehem, worked up." She grinned sheepishly and Garrus grinned back the same way.

"I've noticed that you tasted salty." Now that he thought about it, he remembered the beads of water on her face and on her back when they had sex. He had not really paid attention, it was just one of the alien things about her.

"How do turians regulate their temperature?" She asked with her childlike curiosity.

"We can easily deal with heat by raising blood circulation. Our plates shield us from heat radiation and by circulation we cool off the areas that are unplated. That works up to a certain point of course, too much heat can cause us to overstress our circulation, causing heart problems." He had his talons stroke through her hair. "We don't do so well in the cold."

"Yeah, humans neither. Freezing can kill us pretty fast." She ghosted her hand over his fringe, as if she was copying his movements. "Anyway, humans sweat and that makes wearing armor all day a sticky, uncomfortable mess. There is actually some new armor in development by Ariake Technologies that promises a new ventilations system. If that works as promised, I might wear that all day." She raised herself on her toes and gave him a kiss on his mandible. "Let's get going. I want that datapad back to do some more research."

Garrus nodded. He snapped on his weapons as he saw Shepard snap on her heavy pistol to her belt. They left the apartment, walking side by side.

In the back of his mind, Garrus counted down how much time they had left until his parents arrived.

He certainly didn't look forward to that confrontation.

* * *

At the ANIS office, they found their datapads on Garrus's desk. They checked the data on it and found some of their entries wiped. It looked rather arbitrary, in some cases, only names were erased, in other cases names were left intact and dates had been deleted.

They looked at each other and laughed, the information in their own heads was much more valuable than what was left on their datapads.

They sat down in front of their terminals and spent the next two hours with research. Shepard looked into Saren's investments while Garrus looked into the locations they had learned from the session the day before.

They worked in silence, only occasionally sharing a look and a smile. The other team was not there. Garrus had not really realized until one of the strangest human females he had ever seen walked, or rather danced into the office. She wore high laced black boots, a white labcoat and a slim top with strange markings. Her black hair was separated into two braids. All over her clothing, decorative jewellery was jingling and she had a friendly, almost childish smile on her face.

She hopped over to him and extended her hand. "Hi! I'm Pauline."

Garrus took her hand and smiled at her, hoping she would recognize it on his face. "Hi. I'm Garrus."

Her smile never faltered, so she probably recognized his smile. Shepard waved over from her desk. "Hi, Pauly."

Pauline turned around in a pirouette. "Where is everybody?"

Shepard shrugged. "We don't know. Nobody was here when we got here."

The woman turned around again, her braids flinging around. "Well, if you have anything to check over, give it to me. I will find all the secrets, no matter where they are hidden."

Garrus nodded at her. "We will keep that in mind."

The strange woman danced towards the elevator and waved towards them before she disappeared. Garrus gaped after her until he was woken from his trance by Shepard's laughter. "Close your mouth, Garrus!" She grinned at him.

Garrus flustered. "I wasn't... I didn't..."

Shepard almost fell out of her chair laughing. "Relax big guy. Nothing wrong with looking, Pauline is quite the sight."

He let out a breath. "That was the strangest human I have ever seen. Human diversity is quite astounding."

Shepard grinned. "Oh, you have seen nothing yet."

"She is the forensics expert?" Garrus asked.

"Yes, and she is the best."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Shepard let the datapad drop on the desk. "I think I've done all I can. How about you?"

Garrus skimmed over his list. "Give me another twenty minutes."

"Alright."

They kept on working, each concentrating on their task. Garrus was looking over police reports, hospital files and sometimes local news posts from places where Saren had filed reports about. There were some discrepancies between his mission reports and the local reports. While it was clear that Saren always got the job done, his methods often left a trail of destruction behind. He would always catch or kill the criminals, hired mercs or pirates but without regard for civilian casualties. Local authorities were rather cautious in their praise of his actions. Garrus had made a simple list that put the numbers from Saren's reports next to the reports from local sources. The discrepancies were obvious.

Garrus sensed Shepard's presence behind him before her arms snaked inside the cowl of his armor. She looked over his columns with interest. "Can you put dates next to the rows?" She asked, pointing at the columns.

Garrus nodded and added the dates. Shepard looked critically over the list. "Around that time, Nihlus became Spectre, right?"

Garrus checked for the date, "Yes, after that, he was alone." After that date, the list became noticeably thinner.

"He didn't do much for the Council anymore." Shepard said. "In fact, he has not taken a Council mission or brought in a report for three weeks now."

"That could be just a lull in activity." Garrus didn't really believe that himself. Shepard wordlessly pulled up a report about pirate activity in Council space. There was no lull visible, and a search of local news posts showed plenty of Spectre activity.

"So it looks like Saren is avoiding Council work." Shepard murmured.

Garrus hummed thoughtfully. "Wouldn't the Council notice when their top Spectre is not working for them anymore?"

Shepard had her arms still around his cowl. Her breath on his neck made him shiver a little but it was also soothing. Her being with him, working together, it felt so natural.

She made an approving hum to his question. "He must have a real fan on the Council, someone who covers for him." She said. "You know, it may be just my prejudice, but the turian Councillor would be the first to come to my mind."

Garrus nodded. "Let me just check something." He searched for recent connections between the Sparatus family and the Arterius, respectively the Serpentin clan but he didn't find any.

Shepard shook her head. "Go further back. Like back to the time when his brother lived."

Garrus broadened the search, enjoying the soft feeling of her skin against his neck. The search algorithm returned no entries concerning Saren but it brought up a connection between Sparatus and Desolas, Saren's brother. There was a short report about the attendees of a high profile military academy. The accompanying picture showed young, serious turians in academy uniforms. Most of them had colorful colony markings, only two turians were barefaced.

One barefaced turian, long, fleeting plates on his forehead and extended Valluvian horns on his mandibles, stood next to a dark plated turian with extensive white markings. Garrus recognized him as the young version of Councillor Sparatus. "So it looks like Sparatus knew Desolas Arterius from his academy days. Maybe he feels obligated to cover Saren out of some promise or old friendship to his brother."

Shepard nodded. "Yeah, that would explain why he can operate like that without ever getting questioned by the Council." She raked through her hair. "The longer I look at all this, the less I'm liking it. A ruthless Spectre is already dangerous, if he has the Councillor covering for him - that's a terrifying thought. There is nothing that will stop him, no matter what he does."

"Agreed." Garrus nodded. Thinking about this situation, he could actually understand why his father was so against Spectres. That he didn't want his own son to join them had probably as much to do with their dangerous lifestyle as it had to do with them being unruled and uncontrollable. Still, he would have been a different kind of Spectre.

Shepard pushed herself upwards and stretched her back with her arms above her head. "I think my head is stuffed now. We know a lot of things, we have a feeling for Saren now and we can't proof shit. I need a break."

Garrus logged out of the terminal and stood up. They were alone in the office, so he took her in his arms, relishing the feeling of her turning soft in his embrace. A small sigh came from her and she pressed her cheek against his mandible. Garrus cursed his armor, preventing him from feeling her softness against his body. He nuzzled her neck before letting her go.

She smiled up to him. "Let's take a walk, I got so many things in my head, I need to turn them over for a while."

"Yes, I'd like that. And we can also make a little detour to our volus friend Expat, ask him what he knows." Garrus said as they walked to the door.

She nodded, already deep in thoughts. They walked silently next to each other, both of them thinking over what they knew.

* * *

The volus Expat was unfortunately not quite as forward as he had been before. His behaviour had turned into fearful, he seemed deathly afraid especially after Garrus had mentioned the Shadow Broker.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Palaven-clan." He wheezed and began to hurriedly pack up his merchandise. Shepard stepped forward and lowered herself into a crouch to face him.

"Don't worry, we don't want to cause you any trouble. It's just that you mentioned the colonies Feros and Noveria and we would like to know what you heard about them."

The volus wheezed a few times, before he answered. "I haven't heard anything directly, Earth-clan," wheeze, "but I know a merchant who deals in real estate. He told me that he got many new customers," wheeze, "Earth-clan like you, coming from those colonies."

"Could I talk to him?" Shepard asked. "Here is my contact, please ask him to call me."

The volus merchant was fidgeting from one foot to another. Finally he wheezed out an affirmation.

"But I can't promise that he will call you." He said with his helmeted head hung low.

"I understand." Shepard nodded and raised herself up again. They left with a short farewell.

They walked back towards the Presidium. Shepard abruptly spoke up. "Sometimes I wish I had my own ship. I would fly to those colonies and look at this myself. All this investigating on second hand information drives me nuts, I want to go out out there and really see what's going on."

Garrus grinned. "We would need a Spectre for that. Maybe you should apply for that."

She laughed, "Oh hell no! First human Spectre, I can do without that pressure, thank you very much!"

They went to a café for a quick lunch. Shepard had something she called 'Noodle Soup' while Garrus treated himself to some small fishes, promised to be fresh from Palaven, according to the waiter. The fish was raw, as it was custom for turian food and lathered with a spicy cream. He picked one up with a two pronged fork and slid it in his mouth, enjoying the crunch of it's bones and the blood mixing with the spices. When he opened his eyes again he caught Shepard staring at him, her spoon frozen halfway towards her mouth.

He tilted his head in question, "What?"

She lowered her spoon back to the bowl. "I'm trying to decide whether that way of eating looks frightening or erotic." She tilted her head to the side, mirroring his movements. "I guess, I just have to get used to it." She returned to her soup, carefully blowing on the spoon with pursed lips. Garrus found that fascinating, such conduct being impossible for turian mouthplates.

They kept eating in silence, both of them looking fascinated at the others way of eating. At some point, they both broke out in laughter at the situation.

Their omni-tools lit up, indicating a call from Nihlus to both of them. Shepard got up and moved a chair next to Garrus, to look on his omni-tool with him. Nihlus greeted them from the translucent screen with a huge grin.

"Hello my lovebirds!" He called out, his mandibles spread wide. "Do I have a surprise for you. Meet me at Docking Bay 23."

"Why?" Shepard asked.

"Ah, no telling, just be there!" Nihlus twitched his mandible in a grin and ended the call.

Shepard looked like she was about to burst from excitement. "Oh, I think I know... You're gonna love it! Come on!" Their food forgotten, she ran to a transit hub with him and ordered a skycar to take them to the docking ring.

"What is it?" Garrus asked, feeling left out of the excitement.

"Shh, in a minute, you'll see." She jumped out of the skycar and ran through the security station, only stopping to say her name at the terminal. Garrus followed her, saying his name as well, hearing the faint 'voice match confirmed' behind him as they entered the dock.

On the dock he almost ran into Shepard who had stopped still. They stood in front of a ship unlike any Garrus had ever seen. The hull of the ship had a sleek, curved design with the wings angled downwards to the side like it was custom on turian frigates. The design looked familiar and alien at the same time. The ship was painted in black and white, a red stripe on it's side under the name. In human writing, big bold letters spelled out the name, NORMANDY.

Shepard stared at the ship in awe, one of her hands over her mouth. "Oh my god, she is beautiful!"

"She?" Garrus wondered.

"Yes, ships are female and she is a beauty." Shepard said, taking his arm and pulling him along with her. "Look at the guns, it's a brand new GARDIAN system and she has a mass accelerator gun as well. She has a new kind of drive core, huge, twice the size you would normally fit into a frigate. Does she look familiar to you?"

Garrus tilted his head. "Yes, in a way, the design reminds me of turian fighters."

She grinned at him triumphantly. "Exactly. The ship has been designed by human and turian engineers cooperatively. It's a brand-new ship type, designed for covert solo missions. If she is successful, they will build many more of her. This is the ship I couldn't tell you about." Her enthusiasm was infectious, Garrus found himself feeling just as excited as her.

"And you think we can both serve on this ship?" Garrus asked, cautiously hoping for it. To serve on a ship like that would be a great honor.

"Yes, I think we can get you on there. You see, Captain Anderson is getting command of the Normandy from Captain Zander very soon. I have spoken with Anderson about multiple species on the crew before and he is at least not against it. The Council has sponsored the construction of this ship so it should be natural to have members of all Council species on board." She put her hand on his mandible for a second. "I can't promise anything of course, but I will move hell and water to get you on board."

There was a tiny knot of fear in his gizzard, it had felt so good, so right, to work together during the past few days. He didn't want to miss that. And he definitely didn't want to go back to C-Sec.

The airlock door opened and Nihlus waved at them with a big smile. "Hello my friends. Would you like a tour of this pretty little ship?"

"Who are you calling little?" Shepard asked, running into the airlock. She could obviously not wait to get on the ship. Garrus followed her just as eagerly. The disinfection cycle ended and they could finally enter the inside of the ship. To the left was the cockpit, filled with holographic controls glowing orange, a pilot seat and a co-pilot seat. While it did look fairly normal for all that Garrus knew about cockpits, he took note of the fact that the seats were clearly made for humans.

They turned to the right and entered the command deck. Garrus noticed that the CIC was placed towards the back of the ship and had a raised platform, as it was custom on turian ships. As far as he knew, that was a uniquely turian design and he wondered how well it worked for human command style.

As Nihlus approached the platform, the holographic display in the middle changed to a galaxy map. Shepard stepped up on the platform beside Nihlus. She tested the display and started moving through the database, making herself familiar with it. When she looked up, she caught Garrus looking at her and made a shy smile.

Nihlus motioned to them to follow him as he led them further towards the back into a large room with chairs and a holographic communications port. Nihlus pointed towards it. "The Council had requested this, it has a direct connection to them."

Shepard looked confused. "On an Alliance ship? Why would they need a direct connection to the Council?"

Nihlus looked slightly embarrassed and Garrus could tell from his subharmonics that he had let something slip that he wasn't supposed to. "I will explain later. Let's look at the rest of the ship." He ushered them out and down a set of stairs to the second deck.

Nihlus gave them a tour through the mess, showed them the location of the captain's cabin and the medical bay. Garrus wanted to look into the main battery but the door was locked and Nihlus trilled apologetically that he was unable to open it. They made their way down with an elevator to the lowest deck, the cargo hold.

Garrus found his interest suddenly piqued, not only was there a well equipped weapons repair bench on one side, but there was also a Mako parked alongside the hull of the ship. Garrus had heard about these vehicles, armored and well armed like a tank, but much more maneuverable and agile than that. He was itching to take a closer look at it, this thing even had thrusters and atmospheric shielding. It could be dropped from atmospheric flight onto a planets surface and manage short flights with it's thrusters. The only problem usually was to get the thing back on board, it needed to jump towards the ship in atmospheric flight, close enough for the mass effect cables to latch on and pull it back in. That kind of exercise needed a good pilot and a good driver.

He realized that he stood lost in thought when Shepard called back to him from a door next to the elevator.

"Hey, drag yourself away from that thing, we are getting to the heart of this baby."

Garrus hurried after her and descended down a short ramp to the engineering level. He found Shepard standing in the middle of the room, staring in awe at an insanely huge drive core. The thing looked massive, like it was supposed to go into a much larger ship.

"How did they even fit this thing into this ship?" Garrus wondered aloud. Shepard seemed to be unable to form words, her mouth stood open but didn't move. He suppressed a chuckle, she looked like she had just been given the nicest present ever.

Nihlus stepped up to them. "This is the Tantalus drive core. It makes this ship one of the fastest spaceships ever, extremely maneuverable in the hands of a skilled pilot. But it also powers one of the best features of this ship - a stealth drive."

Shepard's eyes went wide. "A stealth drive? For real?"

Nihlus nodded with a grin. "Zero emissions for up to three hours in operation or even days while drifting. Of course, the ship will still be visible but it will not show up on any scanners."

"That is so awesome." Shepard sighed. She looked like she wanted to hug the drive core. "Isn't it awesome?" She asked, turning to him. Garrus chuckled.

He whispered quietly, "Yes, sunshine, the way you look at it I wonder if I should be jealous."

Shepard giggled quietly. "Don't worry, he won't replace you."

Her omni-tool pinged with a message and Nihlus twitched his mandibles in a grin. "That should be your order for the Normandy's shakedown run in two weeks." He said.

"XO under Captain Anderson." She whispered in awe. Garrus was proud of her and fearful at the same time. If she went on the Normandy, where would that leave him?

She looked up to him and he recognized the same thoughts in her face. "What about Garrus? I want him on board too, and Anderson knows that."

Nihlus trilled, embarrassed. "There is a slight problem with Garrus's current status. The Normandy will operate as an Alliance ship with Council sponsoring. For Garrus to join, he would either have to be hired as a mercenary or ordered on board by the turian Hierarchy. Unfortunately, Garrus isn't military at the moment, he's still C-Sec."

Garrus hummed angrily, of course C-Sec would cause him problems.

Nihlus continued. "The best way for Garrus and his future would be, that he rejoined the military and joined the Normandy as an official representative for the turian Hierarchy. That way, he will have a rank and will continue to fulfill his duty as a turian."

Shepard looked at Nihlus with a frown. "Let me guess, it will take a while to get that sorted, and he can't join right away?"

Nihlus made a tone of uncertainty. "With luck it could work. We still have two weeks." He trilled at Garrus. "I already put a request forward and the Hierarchy is willing to accept you. But the transfer to the Alliance takes a bit longer to work it's way through the bureaucracy."

Garrus sang out his hope with his subharmonics and there was a bit of triumph in there too. Leaving C-Sec and rejoining the military, and then transferring to the Alliance, it was a perfect list of things to annoy his father. It felt like a coup for independence.

He looked towards his girlfriend and caught her looking at him in worry. He knew what she thought about, she would go on the Normandy, with or without him. Not only was it an order, it was also a great career chance, one he would never ask her to miss. Even if he couldn't go with her.

She took his hand in hers, her thumb stroking the skin between his thumb and second finger. "We will find a way, just give it some time." She said with a hopeful smile that warmed him from the inside. "We will be together, no matter what."

Nihlus made a rude sub-noise that made Garrus involuntarily flinch. "The sweetness between you two is sickening." Nihlus said with a grin. "I will personally see to it that Garrus get's this transfer, if only to prevent Shepard from kidnapping him. She would probably start a war between humans and turians just to get you."

"Yes, I would. Not even a question." She purred, sliding up to him and placing a kiss on his throat.

Nihlus made an amused trill. "Please don't make a mess on the drive core, you strange kids. I'm going up to the mess hall and I expect you two there in five minutes. After that, I send the engineers back down and you better not give them a show that could scar them for life."

Shepard giggled quietly as Nihlus left, the door sliding shut behind him. The blue light of the drive core reflected on her black hair and the blue streak was shining even brighter. She pushed him against a station on the side, ignoring the angry beep from it. His codpiece suddenly felt very tight.

She pulled his head down and kissed him hungrily. He was really glad that she didn't wear armor as he chucked his gloves to the ground and let his hands roam under her shirt, stroking her waist and letting her hair slide through his fingers. They still kissed, desperately, their tongues touching and stroking, her _oh so_ soft lips nibbling and sucking on his harder mouthplates. She climbed up on him, her kisses moving to the sides of his mandibles, her hands stroking under and over his fringe.

An amused trill left him. "Is it the drive core? Does that turn you on?" He murmured, his breath blowing over the skin of her throat. He noticed the fine hairs on her skin standing up.

"Yes. No. Yes, the drive core... the light, the hum, so hot... but it's you." She kissed along his mandible. "Only you."

She suddenly stopped and pressed her forehead against his, breathing hard. They stayed like that until they heard steps coming down the ramp to the door. In a fluid motion she slid down and stepped away from him, straightening her hair with a quick move of her hand. She walked towards the other door, Garrus picking up his gloves and following her, just as the door opened. Three humans, all of them carrying tools and reading datapads, entered as they left the room.

Shepard snickered quietly. "I can't believe he really sent down the engineers. He's going to pay for that. One day..."

Garrus watched her, his heart beating fast. That mischievous grin was another favorite of his.

()()()

* * *

_The expression_ Valluvian horns _is supposed to describe the striking long extensions on the mandibles that Saren has. I got that expression from Velasa and her great Sidonis story 'Love is a Wicked Creature'. She says she has it from Smehur and the MissfireAnon's works. It always comes back to Smehur when it is about Saren._

_I had this idea of Shepard getting turned on by the drive core and then... somehow I wrote a story about Tali and the drive core. If you're interested, check my profile._

_Anyway, next up, Vakarian senior should show up, don't you think? That's going to be... interesting._


	23. Chapter 23

_I was procrastinating writing this chapter so much. I don't deal well with conflict and Garrus's father... I was about ready to throw it all down and set it on fire halfway through._

* * *

()()()

"So, do you think we have everything we need?" Shepard asked, looking over the bags of food spread out in the kitchen and spilling into the living room.

"I think we can feed a platoon with everything we have here." Garrus answered. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I didn't hear any suggestions from you how turians welcome their boyfriend's parents, so we are stuck with the human tradition now. I cook something for them, and they can complain about it to you later and we will all sit around the table, awkwardly trying to come up with something to talk about. And the one rule for that: don't mention the war." She gave him a weak smile. "At least that's how it always goes in the movies."

Garrus had a slight panic attack, basing potentially life changing moments on movie scenes did not sound like a good idea. But she was right, he did not have any better suggestions. Normal turian procedure would have been to bring his potential mate to his parents, not the other way around.

He started to sort the ingredients by amino-style and by course order. Four piles of food just about fit on the counter, leaving no place to actually prepare the food. With a sigh he put four boxes on the floor and moved everything off the counter.

Shepard came over and helped him. "It's getting a bit cramped in here, isn't it?"

Garrus looked around and nodded in defeat. With all the extra food he needed for Shepard, he had had to stack crates full of levo-food against the wall, making the place look like an unfinished store.

"This place was never meant for more than one turian, you know?" He said, fluttering his mandibles at her.

She grinned at him. "Not leaving, sorry."

He stepped over to her and nuzzled her cheek. "Wouldn't let you, sorry."

Shepard laughed out and made a dramatic pose, waving her arm and acting like she was fainting. "Help, help, the big bad turian is holding me captive!" With big sigh she fell backwards against the couch and tumbled over the backrest. Garrus caught her arm and pulled her back up, ignoring her dramatic shrieks mixed with laughter.

He pulled her close and kissed her like he had wanted to all morning, while they had been grocery shopping.

_Spirits, kissing must be the best human invention ever._

Shepard let her hands wander along his fringe and he cursed his armor for preventing him from feeling her body pressed against his. He calculated in the back of his head if they would have time for some more intimacy. His parents would not be here for another two hours at least and her scent was everywhere anyway.

He made a decision. Who knew how this day would turn out and he wanted to have at least one good thing to remember about it.

His hands slid under her shirt, pushing it upwards but he stopped and tilted his head at her in question. He knew that she recognized this kind of turian body language and would know what he meant. With a bright smile her hand went to the latches of his armor but stopped before she opened them and she tilted her head in question herself.

He chuckled and whispered, "Yes!" with a slightly urgent trill at her. A breathy laugh came from her and she whispered, "Yes!" herself. In an instant the pieces of his armor fell loudly to the ground and her shirt tumbled on top of the pile. Shepard's pants slid to the ground, just as his codpiece fell down. She didn't bother with his leg and arm greaves and she still wore dark socks on her feet.

But that didn't matter. All that mattered was, that he could finally feel her, feel her body pressed against his and her hands touching the plates on his back. In a, by now, familiar move, she jumped up on his hips, standing on his spurs.

She was teasing him, moving her wet folds slowly over the tip of his penis. She looked him straight in the eyes, her mouth in a wide grin. Garrus leaned forward, carefully keeping his balance and moved the tip of his tongue lightly over her lips. The shape of her mouth changed, he still found it fascinating how much movement she had in those lips, and her own tongue peeked out to meet his. Her concentration had shifted and Garrus used this moment to pull her down and sheath himself inside of her.

The sudden move caught her off guard and the moan that left her heated his blood even more. She was so wonderful, so sensual, she always gave him everything, never held back.

Holding her tight to him, he carried her over to the bedroom. Every step made her gasp, it seemed to rub her in just the right way. To test that theory, he stopped and made a turn around the room. When he had arrived back at the bedroom door she was panting and moaning and Garrus knew that she was close to come. He hurriedly carried her to the bed and went down on his knees to sit her down. She was holding on to his neck, her nails digging into his skin, her eyes wide in wonder. He loved that look on her, like she couldn't believe what she felt.

He leaned her back, to give himself a good angle and slowly drove into her. Almost immediately he felt her tighten around him and her moans turned into passionate yells. She held on to him even tighter and pressed her face against his mandible, rolling her hips. That move made him explode in passion, and he groaned out his orgasm in three hard thrusts.

Slowly they calmed down, their faces pressed together. He felt her smile against his mandible and she whispered, "Hey, angel, I'm not going to leave you, just because your dad will make some nasty remarks."

He stilled, how did she know of this fear in him? "What do you mean?" He asked, trying to sound surprised.

She leaned back and put both her hands on the sides of his face. "Don't think I didn't recognize the urgency. This was, 'at least I have something nice to remember, even if she leaves me' -sex. And I'm telling you that you don't need to worry." She placed a row of kisses on either side of his face. "I'm not leaving you because of your father." Another row of kisses. "I'm not leaving you."

Garrus swallowed. He wanted to say something, tell her how his cowl was bursting from all the feelings for her but he couldn't form any words. Only his sub-voice was singing his love for her loudly, telling her everything that he could not say.

Her voice copied his hum, singing love like he did. Garrus pulled her close and thanked all the Spirits that they had let him meet this woman.

Shepard let her finger trace over his markings. He was still kneeling between her legs, his naked torso inviting her hands. Her touch was soft but he had noticed that she pressed into his skin a bit more than in the beginning. She probably took into account that his skin was so much thicker than hers.

"Tell me about your markings." She whispered.

"What about them?"

Her eyes met his. "I remember you said that Batius let the family lines of his markings fade. What lines of your markings are colony and which are family?"

He traced his markings with a talon from memory alone. He had had them since he was 13 and he usually touched them up himself. He knew them well. "The thick line here from one side to the other with the dot on top here is colony. The shape on the sides with the little dash here, on my mandibles, is family. They go together with the markings below my cowl."

Her eyes followed his talons and then she traced the lines again with the bud of her finger. "What about Nihlus? The markings on his face are so large..."

Garrus thought about the large pattern, he had once learned all colony markings in school and tried to remember the lines. "His colony markings are on the sides, I think. The family lines are on his forehead."

"I always wondered about something. The turian councilor has almost the same markings as Nihlus, are they related?" Shepard asked, one eyebrow raised higher than the other.

Garrus had to smile at her expression. "They are from the same clan, I think, but not directly related. You might see many turians with similar markings who don't even know each other if the clan is big. My clan is rather small, you don't see my markings often."

She followed the lines under his cowl with her fingertip. "So they fade, that means they are not tattoos, right?"

"Tattoos?"

"Humans use needles to inject ink under the skin. That way a tattoo is permanent, it doesn't really fade." Shepard said.

Garrus tried to wrap his head around that description, knowing what he did about humans skin. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Oh, yes, it does." Shepard said with a grin. "That is part of the process, to endure the pain to get it. I wanted to get a tattoo on Elysium, in celebration of my N7 rank. But the attack... I didn't get round to it. But I want to get a tattoo soon."

Garrus shook his head. "Humans, you get stranger the more I know about you. Our markings are not tattoos, the paint kind of etches into the plates but they need to be touched up regularly. Otherwise they fade."

"So, you paint them with a brush?"

"Yes, some people like to have an artisan do it for them, but I usually do it myself."

Shepard looked over his markings with a fascinated look. "I'd like to watch that. When you paint your markings."

Garrus nodded. "I'll paint them again in two days, I'll let you watch then."

He began tracing her scars with his talon. Her most prominent scar was cutting through her right brow, but she also had a faint slash on her chin. "Where are these from?"

"The one on my eyebrow is from my first assignment as an N4. I almost lost a teammate on this stupid pirate camp. They had the whole place rigged with explosives and Svend triggered one. I managed to pull us behind a tree trunk but some shrapnel hit us. This cut was from a piece of metal, searing hot. It cut me and cauterized the wound right away, I didn't even bleed." Her finger felt around her chin to find the faint line there.

"This one is really old, I was ten, I think. I ran outside and tripped over the last step. Cut my chin and bled all over the carpet like a stabbed pig. Face wounds bleed like crazy."

Garrus could see the grief rise in her as she was thinking back to a time where she still had a family. "Unless you make the cut with searing hot shrapnel." He said, trying to bring some morbid humor into her thoughts. It worked, she gave him a little smile.

With a sigh he carefully pulled her head towards his and pressed their foreheads together. This time he heard her start the love-hum and his hum fell in tune.

A buzz from her omni-tool finally pulled them apart, he raised himself up and sat down on the bed next to her. She huddled herself against him as she called up the message.

"Ah, the team roster. Let's see, who we will be working with." She scrolled through the list. "Alenko, of course, I should have known. Pressley, hmm, not sure I know him. Oh, and Jenkins! Glad to see him on board." She turned around to look at him excitedly. "I had been assigned to him for a week to teach him shooting at the N-Academy, he's a fun kid. So excited to see some action. A bit careless, I hope he has learned to use cover by now. Him and Alenko will make a good team." She turned back to the list. "Who will fly the girl? Moreau? Oh, right, Joker!" A happy smile spread on her face. "I keep forgetting that he has a real name, Joker is great, awesome pilot. You'll like him."

Garrus nuzzled her hair, he loved how it felt on his mandibles. He tried to distract himself from the fear that he may not accompany her on the Normandy. "Why did you say that you should have known that they put Alenko on the crew?"

Shepard sighed and scooted lower so that she was lying across his legs, her head resting on his thigh.

"Kaidan Alenko is an Alliance guy through and through. He's so much, 'by the book', he probably recites the rules for breakfast. Not to say that he isn't also a damn fine soldier, an incredibly strong biotic. But I'm much more relaxed with the rules, his unofficial second job probably is to watch over me and keep me inside the guidelines." She looked up to him and her blue eyes were shining.

"I'm a bit of a loose cannon, as the higher-ups like to say. Alenko is their perfect soldier and if it weren't for the Blitz on Elysium, he would have passed me in rank by now, I'm sure. Soon he will rush past me and I'll be under his command." She grinned mischievously. "So I have to enjoy it as long as I still can that I outrank him and can boss him around!"

Garrus stroked her cheeks with the back of his fingers. "So, Alenko is the better soldier?"

"As in following rules and orders? Definitely." Shepard said. "I have a long list of complaints for insubordination on my file. I'm not exactly the Alliance's dream soldier, Kaidan is."

She sat up and looked to the window, her face serious. "I have no illusions about me and the Alliance. I joined the Alliance because they saved me on Mindoir. Anderson took me under his wing, visited me at my aunts whenever he could and told me stories how the Alliance is making the galaxy a better place. And he didn't do it to influence me, Anderson really believes that."

She turned back and looked Garrus in the eyes. "So of course I wanted to join the Alliance. Before the attack on Mindoir I had no idea what I wanted to be one day, something with tech, an engineer maybe. The Alliance could give me that along with the combat training, so I joined them. If some pirates had rescued me and taken me under their wings? I'd probably be a pirate or a merc today."

Garrus was surprised, he had assumed that being a soldier had always been her dream job. For a turian, it was never even a question whether he or she would join the military, every turian served the Hierarchy in some way after turning 15.

Shepard continued. "I'm not that much of a romantic that I think that the Alliance is making this world all better but, yes, I'm glad to be on the good side most of the time. The Alliance is not some club of do-gooders, they did horrendous stuff during the First-Contact war just like every military in times of war and there are some shady Alliance black-ops groups around. But on the whole, they do good stuff, laws and justice and all that."

She got up and they walked back to the living room, picking up clothes and pieces of armor. Shepard kept on talking, as if she had wanted to say these things for long time.

"I know that I could have just as well turned out to be a pirate, I could have ended up on the other side of this gun. That's always in the back of my mind. That pirate over there is probably just some kid who took a different turn than me somewhere."

Garrus was astonished. He had never taken her for a mindless killer but he also had not thought that she was so understanding of her enemies. As he picked up the pieces of his armor he wondered what his life would have been like, if he had not grown up on Palaven. If he had been some barefaced kid, with no other perspective for his future than the Blue Suns. Would he be a merc today, working for the highest bidder? Would he be the one in Shepard's scope?

She was raking through her hair, she did that often when she was agitated. "But of course, when it comes down to it, I don't have whole lot of mercy in my heart for pirates. We always have choices and choices are what make us. That kid took a different turn but he stayed on that path. That was his choice."

She had put all her clothes in a pile on the couch and put her arm around his waist, leaning her head against his cowl. The pieces of his armor were in a pile on the floor and he took off his greaves to add them to it.

Shepard kept on talking. "I like to believe that I would have left the pirates, that I would have had my moral compass pointing me in the right direction, away from that life."

He made a questioning trill and she nodded. "Yeah, it's easy in hindsight and we will never know but I still think leading that kind of life is a choice at some point. A choice you have to own up to. And it might mean that you stand on the business end of my gun one day."

Garrus put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. "And that's a very unhealthy place to be, I happen to know."

She giggled and gave him a kiss on his forehead before moving away from him. "So shower and then food preparation?"

"Sounds good." He rumbled. He followed her towards the shower, determined to not let her go into the shower alone. He loved showering with her.

* * *

"Is this right?" Shepard asked, looking curiously at the casserole. They had marinated the artificial dextro-meat in a special sauce that Garrus had made after a recipe he had found in a cookbook. He hoped it was at least comparable to the sauce that his mother had always made. Apparently it looked very strange to Shepard but he considered her own casserole to look very weird too.

Shepard had made a small casserole with something she called Lasagna and it was covered in that synthetic stuff called cheese. To him, it looked like some kind of mud with yellow sheets and the cheese gave off an unpleasant aroma. But his food probably smelled just as strange to her as hers to him.

The dextro meal was far more elaborate than hers. They had a starting dish of gemarsu soup, the kind his father had often made. A main meal with the marinated kalkenda meat and bazellas and a dessert. The dessert they had bought, Garrus did not have the right equipment in his kitchen to make frothed telhyla.

He felt as if he was on a mission that he had not prepared for. He had messaged his parents, telling them that he was expecting them, and that Shepard and him invited them to dinner in his apartment. That way he had made clear that he would not hide her, not try to cover up the relationship.

But he could not make any prediction about how the dinner would go. This was uncharted territory, he had never even spoken about relationships with his parents before, let alone introduced someone to them. And now he was throwing all traditions out of the window by inviting his parents into his home to introduce them to his human girlfriend.

And he had not even told her that he loved her and saw her as his mate.

This evening had only one direction to go and it was towards disaster.

Garrus had put on his best formal suit, dark blue with yellow offsets. Luckily it still fit him perfectly. Shepard was actually wearing a dress, and by the way she was pulling at it all the time, she was clearly not used to it. The dress had been a real surprise, it looked vaguely turian but Shepard had said that it was human, influenced by an old earth culture. It was called Han-style, something that apparently came from an Earth country called China.

The dress was dark red, with black borders and it wrapped around her body and was closed with a bow on the side. The sleeves were long and wide. A yellow scarf was draped over her shoulders and fell loosely down the sides. The dress and the scarf went all the way down to her ankles, leaving just enough of a gap to the floor so that her feet in small red shoes were visible. The shoes had a higher heel and it made her walk differently, a bit like a turian.

The dress was not overly sexualized like many asari dresses were, but it still showed enough of her curves for Garrus to appreciate it. And the shoes - the shoes were doing things to his imagination that he could hardly put into words. Just thinking about her walking around naked, only wearing those red shoes, her lean legs, how her gait would change - it was enough to make his plates shift.

Fluttering his mandibles he tried to clear his head of these thoughts, not quite successfully.

They had set the coffee-table, because Garrus didn't have a dining table and he even had to borrow a couchchair from a neighbour to have enough seating. They had put the food in the oven to keep it warm, and now they could just wait. While traffic between the relays was quite regular, docking at the Citadel could be a bit unpredictable, so they didn't know exactly when his parents would arrive.

Shepard had settled down on the couch and flipped through vids on the big screen. She was extremely nervous, he could see that from miles away. Just as nervous as him.

He sat down next to her and took her hand away from her mouth, before she actually bit through her nail. "It's okay, Jane. We will get through this, none of this is your fault."

She gave him a crooked smile. "You know, I've had life-threatening missions that I felt more confident about than this." She leaned her temple against his shoulder. "Let's run away. I'm sure there is a transport going to Illium right this minute."

He chuckled. "Not sure I like Illium. How about if we go to Earth?"

Shepard had to laugh. "You have no idea what kind of a hell-hole that planet is, do you?" She turned to him. "How large is Palaven's population?"

"About 6 billion, I think."

"Earth has a population of more than 11 billion. The planet is covered with cities, huge, ugly, sprawling complexes, full of people, noise and pollution. There is a reason why moving to colonies is so popular for people from Earth." Shepard said.

Garrus let his talons rake through her hair. "I still would like to see it one day. See what kind of world has brought these horribly nosy humans into this galaxy."

Shepard laughed out. She was about to answer when the door chimed to announce a visitor. They both froze and stared at each other. Simultaneously they jumped up and began to straighten their clothes. Garrus looked at her and whispered, "Are you ready?"

She shook her head, "No, can I jump out of the window?" Her grin was a bit shaky but she stepped up beside him to face the door with him. With a nod to her, Garrus issued the command to open the door.

His mother stepped in first, followed by his father. They both halted in their steps and just looked at them as the door closed behind them. Garrus noted with some fatalistic amusement that the four of them must look very strange, standing there in two pairs, facing each other. Finally, Garrus made a respectful nod to his mother and greeted her with a friendly trill. He saw some of the tension fall from her face as she answered with a trill of her own and stepped forward to take his hands.

"Son, I am glad to see you are well." Talina Vakarian said to him and she lowered her forehead towards him like she had always done when he had still been a small child. He was taller than her now and had to bend his knees to get down to her to let his forehead gently rest against hers for a second.

They stepped apart and Garrus nodded respectfully towards his father. Aethius Vakarian made a short trill and said, "I'm glad to see you well too, son." They both turned their eyes to Shepard who looked like she was about to faint.

Garrus stepped closer to her and put his hand on her back. He felt her react to his touch by straightening her back and some of the tension left her face. He felt her take a breath, probably to greet his parents, when his father spoke up with an angry rumble. "Can't she talk?"

His mother hissed at him to quiet him down. Shepard looked between them and then settled her gaze on Talina Vakarian. She nodded and spoke, her voice sounding more confident than the slight tremble under Garrus hands suggested. "Matra Vakarian, Dome Vakarian, I am glad to meet you, my name is Jane Shepard. Please, come in and have a seat."

Garrus was surprised that she knew how to address his parents by using the correct turian expressions. He saw that his parents were equally surprised. Talina moved towards one of the chairs but Aethius stopped her with his hand on her cowl.

He stepped in front of Shepard, using his superior height to loom over her. He showed his teeth in an unfriendly version of a turian smile, indicating that he did not take her serious. "If you are the one who my son has been willing to give up his clan for, I expect to be addressed in the proper way." He shouted at her even though his face was just a few centimeters apart from hers.

Shepard showed incredible control by not even flinching. She held his gaze, stubborn determination on her face. Garrus opened his mouth to say something, only to feel his mandibles fall slack as he heard his wondrous human girlfriend answer in the turian main dialect Palaveni: "_I am honored to meet the parents of my mate._" She took a step back and turned to Talina and gave her a humble bow while she made a trill that expressed how honored she felt. Aethius was left standing with his mouth open.

With a small smile playing on her lips, and Garrus knew that she was damn well aware how much she had nailed this moment, she indicated the two chairs for his parents to sit on. Garrus and her settled down on the couch on the other side of the coffee-table and Shepard began filling three bowls with the soup.

Aethius and Talina Vakarian looked both slightly dumbfounded but Talina was the first one to find her composure again. She looked at Shepard with a friendly smile as she handed her the bowl and asked, "Is this a human tradition, to invite the parents of your mate and make them food?"

As his mother mentioned the word 'mate', it finally sank in for Garrus what exactly Jane had said. She had called him her mate! His mind was reeling. Did she know what that meant? They had not even spoken about that yet, did she really mean it or was it just a phrase she had found in a dictionary? Maybe the word had a different meaning for her? Or it didn't and she had meant it exactly as she had said.

A small nudge on his arm brought him back to reality, realizing that Shepard held out his bowl for him, one eyebrow raised in an amused question. He took the bowl, looking into her eyes, trying to find an answer to all the questions in his mind. She turned her attention back to his mother to answer her question.

"I have to admit that I have no experience with this, but I believe, yes, this is a common human tradition. As far as I know, you are expected to dislike the food and worry that your son will never be fed right from now on." Shepard said with a bright smile. Talina looked unsure from her to Garrus and back and finally laughed out. Garrus felt some of the tension fall from his shoulders when he heard her laugh. Both Garrus and Shepard joined in her laughter.

The older Vakarian did not join, but Garrus could tell from his hum that he was amused as well. The laughter of his wife had always been the one thing that could break Aethius's bad mood.

Shepard went to the kitchen counter and began to prepare the plates with the main meal. Garrus noticed that Aethius was watching critically every step Shepard made, while Talina was more watching him.

The rest of the meal went on in silence, only interrupted by a short compliment from his parents on the food. Luckily the sauce had turned out to be just the right amount of spicy. Both his parents looked curiously at Shepard's food, which she was wolfing down hungrily, until she caught everyone staring at her. Her face turned pink and she started to eat a bit slower.

Garrus was about to get up to get the dessert when Shepard's omni-tool chimed loudly, indicating a call. She excused herself and went into the bedroom. As soon as the door had closed behind her, Garrus found himself under the intense stare of both of his parents.

He swallowed. "I appreciate that you didn't yell at her." He said to both of them.

His mother turned to his father with an angry hiss. "Well, some of us _do_have manners."

Aethius looked at his food, a tiny, defensive growl coming from his subharmonics. "This is a very clever tradition, the humans have here. It makes it almost impossible to go into an argument without negating the hospitality granted to us. We would come off as ill-mannered. Very clever." He turned to Garrus. "You do know that this, choosing a human as your mate, has consequences. Far more severe than you might think."

Garrus waited for him to continue. But they were interrupted by angry yelling from the bedroom. They could only hear bits of the conversation but it was clear that she was upset about something, that she had thought to be already taken care of. Garrus felt worry in him rise, he had the distinct feeling that this had something to do with him.

Shepard stormed out of the bedroom, an angry frown on her face. She stopped and visibly fought for composure. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave. I've been ordered to get on board immediately. They have pulled the shakedown run of the Normandy forward and I have to leave right away."

Garrus stood up but froze when he saw and felt the pain in her eyes. She stepped up to him and took his hands in hers. "You can't come with me. Your transfer has not been approved yet and they won't let you on board. I'm so sorry, there's nothing I can do."

Garrus nodded, "I understand." She stroked his hands once and then ran back into the bedroom, probably to change. He let himself fall back onto the couch and he couldn't stop the sad keen that left his throat. His parents both made a worried trill at him.

Suddenly they both started talking at the same time. Aethius asked, "She is ordered on board the Normandy? The new stealth ship?" While Talina asked, "What transfer was she talking about?"

Garrus sighed. "Father, how do you even know about this ship? I thought it was a secret project between the Hierarchy and the Alliance?"

Aethius made a smug tone. "You underestimate my connections. How do you think we ever got you a praecipit convenire with the niece of the Primarch? Not that you made anything of that incredible opportunity..."

"Aethius!" Talina called out piercingly. It became quite clear that she had ordered her husband to behave before they came, which explained his unexpectedly civil behaviour. She turned back to her son, her features turning soft. "What transfer did she mean? Are you leaving C-Sec?"

"Frankly, I've already left C-Sec. For the past few weeks I've been working with Shepard for ANIS, an interspecies agency for criminal investigations that the Alliance has founded. We have been investigating the Spectres." Garrus said.

Aethius made a surprised trill. "Spectres? _You_ investigated the Spectres? Did you investigate Saren Arterius too?"

Garrus shook his head. "I'm not going to ask how you know about that but yes, we also investigated him. But since he is a Spectre, everything he touches is classified. We were sort of at a dead end. Shepard's assignment to the Normandy was a new development, I'm not sure if we will continue our investigation. But it was a great opportunity, the first turian-human collaboration on a new stealth-frigate."

He looked towards his mother, the one who never wanted him to go to the military after his mandatory service. "To join the Normandy, I needed to re-enlist with the Hierarchy and get officially transferred." He didn't fail to notice the hushed keen his mother made. "I know you don't like this, mother, but I don't want to miss this chance and I want... I want to be with her, with Shepard."

_My mate._

Aethius took a breath to ask something but in this moment Shepard came out of the bedroom in full armor. She was an impressive sight, her dull, dark grey armor with hard angled shoulder guards. A red stripe with white borders went down her right side, a sign for her N7 rank on her chest. She had a sniper rifle, an assault rifle and her heavy pistol snapped on and her helmet under her arm.

Garrus got up and walked over to her, to take her in his arms. He felt more than heard her sigh. He nuzzled her hair and hummed for her. When he stepped back, he saw the worry in her face.

"What's wrong, sunshine?"

Shepard sighed. "I'm not sure, I just have a bad feeling about this. I wish you could come with me. It's... I would feel better if you were around."

"Hey, this is just a shakedown run, what could happen?" Garrus said.

Shepard's voice turned hard. "But the thing is... have you ever heard of an emergency shakedown run?"

Garrus shook his head. That did indeed sound strange.

"See? Me neither. Something is very wrong here, I don't like it." Shepard said.

She turned towards his parents and made a small bow towards them. "Matra Vakarian, Dome Vakarian, I'm very sorry that I have to leave so early. It was a pleasure to meet you both."

She turned back to Garrus and gave him a kiss on his mandible. Garrus took her face in his hands and pressed his forehead against hers. With a quiet hum he released her and she walked towards the door.

Talina Vakarian stood up and walked after her with fast strides. "Shepard, may I walk you out?"

Shepard looked confused towards Garrus and then back to his mother. "I'm sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"Don't worry, I'm sure I can keep up." Talina said and her subharmonics made clear that she did not ask for a permission. Shepard shot him a panicked look that Garrus could only answer in the same way and he shrugged his shoulders. That earned him a frown from his girlfriend, telling him that he was not helping.

"Well, if you insist. Please hurry, a transport is waiting downstairs for me." Shepard said and with a last panicked look she left with Talina Vakarian following behind her. Garrus turned back to his father, who made a thoughtful trill.

"She is right, you know. There is no such thing as an emergency shakedown run." Aethius murmured.

"Yes, I know." Garrus answered. His subharmonics sang a clear song of his worries.

_Spirits, please don't let anything happen to her._

()()()

* * *

_Taking a page out of Blade Runner and Firefly, assuming that China will have a huge influence in the future._

_Thanks to Rama-Kay for helping me come up with some turian names for the food._

_And thanks to Credete, who I keep nagging all the time to edit with me._


	24. Chapter 24

_I'm sorry it took me so long to write this chapter. I spent the last two weeks reading and learning about writing instead of doing any writing but I think it will be better for the story in the long run. We are now at the point that the game-story begins and this chapter started out with Garrus basically just waiting for Shepard to return. That's boring. So I decided to bring the action to Garrus. Unlike in the game, where shit happens to Shepard alone, in this AU, things are happening everywhere and Garrus and friends will play a more active role. _

_So, on with the show._

* * *

"I hope that this delay in transfer is not your doing." Garrus growled at his father. He had not been able to sit down again, instead he was pacing between his kitchen area and past the couch, back and forth.

Aethius Vakarian watched his son, quiet concern humming in his subharmonics. "I swear, I had nothing to do with it," he said, stretching his throat. "I heard about your reenlistment but I did not interfere. I wanted to, believe me and many would have seen it as my duty as your father to do it but..."

"Why didn't you?" Garrus stopped pacing to look at his father. He realized for the first time that his father was old. He still had the air of authority about him that Garrus remembered from his childhood but he wasn't quite as imposing anymore.

The older Vakarian spoke with a soft voice. "You mother has reminded me that old traditions are not worth losing my son to."

"That didn't stop you from hiring someone to stalk us and record video footage." Garrus hissed at him with an aggressive undertone. The fear inside his gizzard for his mate was easily replaced by anger at his father's behaviour. It was much easier than thinking about Shepard and what could happen to her.

His fathers trill told him that Aethius was embarrassed at being caught. "I just needed to know if you... if you and her..." A shrill tone of confusion left him.

Garrus stared at his father, he had never seen or heard Aethius Vakarian struggle for words. Conversations with his father had always felt more like well rehearsed speeches, presented with conviction and the belief of undeniable truth in his subvocals. The insecurity his father showed now was very unnerving.

Aethius rose from his seat and clasped his hands behind his back. It was a familiar pose, one that Garrus instantly recognized from his younger days. This was his father as he knew him, about to deliver a scathing speech to his son. "I needed to know if you were serious. I wanted to see if this was just a phase of devious... experimentation. You are of course aware that your mother and I... had very different plans for you and I needed to know..."

This speech was not so well rehearsed as others that Garrus had heard. His father's subharmonics told of his confusion, his inability to understand the situation. He had to suppress a triumphant trill at having made his father feel this way. It was a petty victory over this authoritative figure in his life and he felt ashamed for himself for feeling this way.

His father turned and looked out the window. The light of the Nebula filtered in through the patterns of the window pane, slightly darkened to reflect the day and night cycle Garrus had programmed them with. The older man looked like a turian statue in front of it but his posture was wrong. His shoulders were slumped forward in one of the universal signs of defeat.

"The galaxy is changing, son. And I don't mean just because the humans have entered the field with their curiosity and their annoying habit of questioning everything. There is more." Behind them the door opened for Talina to come through. Aethius nodded at her but continued talking. Garrus felt torn, he wanted to know what his mother had said to Shepard but he didn't want to destroy this rare moment of clear words from his father.

"Things are changing on Palaven, and for turians in the colonies." Aethius said with a sigh. "The young are questioning the rules."

"I'm hardly part of a movement, father." Garrus interrupted. He didn't exactly keep up with current events in the turian homeworlds and made a mental note that maybe, he should pay more attention to things like that. He doubted that he would miss out on major revolutions but smaller things, that did not get reported by the big news sites, would probably go unnoticed by him.

His mother put a hand on his shoulder, a soft trill coming from her. "We know son. But somehow, you are not the only one who happens to do things differently. Many from our clan and friends have similar stories to tell. Young turians, acting restless and unwilling to follow the old rules..."

Garrus leaned down to nuzzle his mothers fringe for a second, a habit calling back from his childhood when he had to stand on his toes to do that. Now he had to lower his head to reach down to her. "Let me guess, and people say it's all the humans fault?"

His father had turned around to them and nodded his head. "Yes, some do. A new species entering the Council systems, especially one as loud and demanding as the humans... they have had quite the effect. It has happened before, like when we came in contact with the asari or the quarians but that has all been so long ago, we, the turians, have forgotten."

Garrus turned to his mother, "What did you say to Shepard?"

She looked at him. "I needed to make sure that she is serious. Because I saw how serious it is for you." Her hand cupped his right mandible and the soft hum that came from her told him how much she worried for him.

"I... nothing you will say can change what I feel." He whispered.

"I'm not trying to change your mind," Talina said. "She cares for you, very much. And I like her."

"You do?" Garrus said with a stupid undertone in his sub-vocals.

"Yes, I do, she seems courageous and open-minded and I would like to get to know her better." His mother shot a stern look towards his father on that, and Aethius very wisely did not comment.

Garrus felt strangely relieved. "Thank you." Suddenly the worry about Shepard and this strange emergency shakedown run came rushing back. He had to sit down. His mother trilled at him with concern and he couldn't answer with something calming. The dread he felt in his gizzard just would not go away.

"We will go to our hotel now," Aethius said, taking his wife by her arm. "Please contact us tomorrow after you work, we would like to spend time with you."

Garrus agreed and let his parents out. As the door closed behind them, he finally let out the sad keen that had been sitting in his throat since Shepard had left.

* * *

Garrus woke up on his couch, squinting at the light flowing in as the windows removed the tint. He checked his omni-tool for new messages but Shepard was obviously under a communications lockdown. At least he hoped that she would have contacted him if she could.

He had taken the day off yesterday and used it to show his parents around the Citadel. His father had shown him his old route that he used to take on his patrol through the wards. The old man was recalling old cases, telling stories of who he had arrested where and what had happened afterwards. Garrus couldn't remember the last time he had seen his father so excitedly happy.

His mother wore a good-natured smile, seemingly happy to see her husband so relaxed. But Garrus didn't fail to notice the looks she gave him. Her mandibles trembling slightly, quiet concern in her subharmonics. Garrus decided to try to find a way to talk to her alone soon, he had not really spoken to her since he had left Palaven.

In the evening he had brought his parents to their hotel and had spent the rest of the evening on his couch, working on a program on his omni-tool. It kept his mind off Shepard and what could possibly happen to her. He missed her fiercely.

Garrus got up to get ready for work. He felt lost. He was officially working for ANIS but without Shepard, he felt like he didn't really belong there. Still, he could hardly stay at home just because his partner wasn't there.

On the way to the ANIS office near the human embassy, he sent out a message to Frank, realizing that he had not spoken to him in a while. His friend answered him with a call after a few minutes.

"Look who emerged from the depth of the fields of love!" Frank called out in his ear.

"I'm sorry Frank," Garrus sighed. He was aware that he had neglected his friend in the last few weeks. "How are you?"

"Good, good. Left C-Sec, gave out cookies for everyone."

"What? When was that?"

"Last week, you were already busy being a big shot ANIS agent." Frank answered with a chuckle. "I sent you a message but you must have missed it."

Garrus looked annoyed at his omni-tool, messages from Frank should have been marked with a 'friend'-tag, he shouldn't have overlooked them. "I'm sorry Frank, I don't know why I didn't see that. I'm on my way to ANIS, can I meet you later?"

"Hey, why not, birdy? I'm working at the desk on the news-site today, you wanna meet over lunch?" Frank asked.

Garrus smiled, hearing his old nickname. He had missed this simple banter between them. "I don't know what I'll be doing, I have to ask the boss what he wants me to do today."

"Alright, talk to you later." Frank said and ended the call.

Garrus stepped into the big ANIS office and for a change found it busy with people of all kinds of species. People were tripping over themselves, handing out datapads and huddling over them with other agents. It was impressive to see, asari, humans, salarians, and turians working together. In the middle of the room Garrus's boss, Jentarius Keggs, sat calmly at his desk, overseeing the chaos around him with the occasional flick of his mandibles.

His eyes fell on Garrus and he waved him over. "Where's Shepard?" He asked with an impatient undertone.

"She got ordered on board the Normandy last night, Sir." Garrus said, keeping himself straight like a good turian soldier. For all his relaxed demeanor, Keggs still had that air of authority around him that the turian military cultivated so very well.

"The Alliance needs to work on their communications." Keggs grumbled, his eyes fixed on the terminal screen in front of him. Garrus thought for a second that he had forgotten that he was still standing there, until Keggs made a handwave towards the human agent Lorenzo Jorno. "You'll be working with Jorno and Va'sida."

Lorenzo Jorno and the dangerous looking asari Dania Va'sida simultaneously stood up and attached weapons to their light armor. Garrus was a bit surprised, so far they hadn't even heard about having a case yet. But apparently the handwave had been enough of a signal, so Garrus checked his guns and armor as well.

Keggs turned to his omni-tool, typing something and their own omni-tools flared up with the case information. "Small frigate, turian, has sent emergency messages about an attack by dead humans. Came through the Widow-relay half an hour ago. We are going to investigate."

Jorno turned around with a grin on his face. "Dead humans? They've been attacked by zombies?" Garrus paused on the unfamiliar word, waiting for the translator program to give him some references.

Va'sida, the asari, seemed to be not patient enough for that. "What are zombies?"

Jorno raised a finger. "Zombies aren't real, they are just part of human pop culture," he said with a huge grin. "Undead humans, infected and degenerated, who attack uninfected humans to bite them, thereby making them zombies too. They are like a wild horde, stumbling, no clear direction but they multiply so quickly that they overrun the humans who are not infected."

Garrus decided to join the conversation, he didn't want to be an outsider in this team. "Turian pop culture has something like that too."

Jorno raised his eyebrows in surprise and interest. "Really?"

"Yes, they are incredibly strong monsters, vaguely turian-like looking, who draw energy from the surrounding environment and dispense it to their company of transformed soldiers to strengthen them. They're called Marauders." Garrus said.

"Interesting." Lorenzo Jorno said. "With turians it's an organized company of overpowered soldiers and with humans it's a horde of flesh-eating savages. Feels like that should tell us something, but I don't really care. Zombies are a staple of human movies and videogames since the twentieth century of our time. They make for perfect enemies, no one needs to feel guilty about shooting them because they are already dead."

"Why would anybody feel guilty about shooting an enemy in a videogame?" Dania asked confused. Garrus had wondered the same.

Lorenzo sighed. "Let's talk about the ways humans can worry about violence and... you know what? Let's not. Humans worry a lot, that's all there is to say about it."

"I thought it was questioning what they did a lot?" Dania said.

"Those go hand in hand, don't you think?" Answered Jorno, throwing a look to Garrus as if to see whether he agreed or not. Garrus nodded, humming his amusement, even though he was unsure if Jorno and Va'sida understood his subharmonics. He got a friendly smile from Lorenzo Jorno and an almost friendly looking nod from Dania Va'sida in return. Garrus counted that as a win.

"Enough." Their boss walked past them, in full armor and a helmet under his arm. "Helmets and air-supplies. There may be an infection or a leak. Close quarters weapons. Let's go."

Garrus thought about leaving his sniper rifle behind but he would have felt naked without it. He had an assault rifle and a pistol on him and took a helmet from a supply locker on the way out. Luckily, all armor connections were standardized, so it would fit on his armor.

The ship was a dark shadow against the light of the relay. Garrus strained his neck to see it through the window of the shuttle. He had the shuttles sensors transmit to his omni-tool and when he checked the readings, they told him the same thing that his eyes had told him. The ship was dead. No energy emissions, hardly any heat transmissions, no light, not even a single spark. From the outside the ship looked a bit shot up but structurally intact.

Lorenzo was looking at his omni-tool as well. "Some impact marks on the hull but no structural damage, as far as I can tell. I'll make a scan of the marks when we are closer, see who shot up the ship."

"Take a trace off it for Pauline." Keggs said. Lorenzo looked like he wanted to protest but his boss just looked at him with his mandibles tight. It was either that expression or the short sub-vocal growl that convinced Lorenzo to keep his mouth shut.

He sighed. "Sure, I just love zero-G dancing around dead spaceships." He mumbled under his breath.

The pilot spoke over the comm system. "I've hailed the ship on all channels, no answer. I also don't get any answer for docking requests from the ships VI so I can only let you out to close the platform, and then you have to open the door manually."

"Understood," said Keggs and put on his helmet. "Check your seals." They all put on their helmets and had the suit systems run a full check for space worthiness.

The pilot positioned them in front of the stern hangar door and after depressurizing the cabin, they opened the door to let themselves float slowly over to the dark ship. After attaching themselves with cables to the ship, Dania started working on the door panel to prepare the door.

Keggs ordered Lorenzo to walk on the side of the ship to collect the trace on one the impact marks. Lorenzo's feet began to glow blue as a mass effect field formed to keep him attached to the hull. He slowly walked along the ships side, extending the cable behind him. Garrus saw him make a scan and then scratch at a part of the hull's surface.

When he came back to the platform, he made a grimace at them. "We should have taken Terlin with us for this."

Dania laughed out. "He would have thrown up inside of his suit." She said over the comm.

Keggs raised a hand, quieting them down and drawing their attention back to the door. After a nod of his head, Dania let the door open. It opened quietly, no hiss of pressurized air, no atmospheric compensation. After floating inside, Garrus spotted a panel in the light of his flashlight and was surprised to see it respond immediately when he pressed a talon on the input pad.

Dania had let the door close again and the room was completely dark except for the light of their flashlights. Garrus found the controls for atmospheric pressure and the gravity generators on the terminal. There were no error messages. "Sir?" He called out to Keggs. His boss came over to him, looking over his shoulders. "Sir, the ship seems to be intact, someone has vented the atmosphere and turned off gravity on purpose. I could turn them back on from here. The ship still has energy."

He heard his boss voice over the comm and behind him at the same time. "Do you get readings from the whole ship? Are there lifesigns anywhere?" Garrus let the ships VI do a full scan. It was a simple VI, barely more than a bunch of programs thrown together but it worked effectively enough.

Garrus let out a surprised trill. "I'm getting readings from one section of the ship that still has atmosphere. I get one life sign in a room near the CIC."

"So someone is still alive. Good." Keggs said. "I'd like to have atmosphere and gravity back but turn the gravity on slowly, we don't want that last survivor to crash to the ground. Lights would be good too."

"Alright, sir." Said Garrus with a nod, only to receive an angry hum in return.

"Stop calling me sir all the time." Keggs said and turned away. Garrus looked after him in confusion and then turned to Lorenzo, who had walked over to him, glowing yellow from his omni-tool.

He switched his channel to Lorenzo alone. "What else should I call him?"

Lorenzo looked up. "We call him Keggs or boss."

Garrus turned his comm back to everyone. "Turning on atmosphere," air hissing through vents confirmed his announcement, "lights..." the room lit up, "and a fifth of G gravity." He felt the slight pull from the ground and aligned his body perpendicular to it. Now that the lights were on, they could finally see all of the room they were in.

The hangar was empty. Not a single object was in the big room, no boxes, no containers, not even a single screw. But the walls and floors had marks on them, bullet holes and energy burns. There was also blood, blue blood.

"Looks like the turians fought here," said Dania, taking pictures and scans from the marks on the walls. She pointed to deep scratches in the floor. "Whatever had been in here, it got vented out through the hangar door."

"I agree." Said Keggs. He was checking the door to the inside of the ship. Garrus raised the gravity to 35% of council G. It made it easier to walk but they were still bouncing with every step. He programmed it to rise slowly to 90% in the next 10 minutes.

"Let's see the rest of the ship. Do all rooms have atmosphere now?" Keggs asked with look towards Garrus. Garrus made a connection to the ships VI via his omni-tool and walked over to the door.

"Unless a room is sealed airtight, they should all have atomsphere by now and gravity will be at 90% in a few minutes. Boss." Garrus said, listening to Keggs's subharmonics for a reaction. According to the almost quiet undertones, he didn't object to Garrus calling him boss.

Keggs took off his helmet and collapsed it and attached it to the back of his armor. Dania, Garrus and Lorenzo did the same. With a nod towards the team, their boss pressed the panel to open the door and stepped through as soon as the gap was wide enough, his pistol raised in front of him.

Lorenzo and Garrus followed him, pointing their pistols up and down a hallway that seemed to run alongside the ship. There were boxes and broken furniture scattered everywhere, piled up in front of the vents. Garrus started to scan the piles when Dania called them back into the hangar.

"Guys? I'm getting some very strange readings here," she yelled, causing Keggs and Garrus to turn back, while Lorenzo stayed in the hallway, only looking at them over his shoulder.

"What is it, Dania?" Keggs asked, kneeling down beside her. Dania scanned a section on the floor that had some sticky fluid on it but it wasn't blue like blood. Looking around, Garrus noticed a few more spots of the greyish fluid on the floor and on the walls.

"The scan identified it as a synthetic fluid." Dania said, showing the read out on her omni-tool. "I had a comparision run against the database through the Extranet connection from the shuttle and the only entry this fluid matches to by 90% is 400 years old." She looked at the readout again, as if she couldn't believe it herself. "It says, it's the geth?"

"Geth?" Keggs and Garrus asked simultaneously. They all looked at each other in confusion. From the door Lorenzo called out. "Should I know what geth are?"

Dania stood up and shouted over to Lorenzo. "If you knew anything about galactic history you would. The geth are an artificial intelligence, invented by the quarians. They run on mobile platforms. That could be where the fluid came from."

Garrus spoke up, how the quarians had lost control of the geth had always been an interesting story for him. "The geth became sentient and revolted against their makers. The quarians had to give up their home planet and the whole galaxy now has to deal with the uncontrolled AIs."

"But the geth haven't been beyond Perseus Veil for over 400 years." Keggs said. He didn't need to say more, they all asked themselves the same question. Why were the geth here?

"Let's check the rest of the ship and find that survivor, maybe he can answer a few questions."

The trek through the ship took a long time. They opened every door, checked every room. The first rooms were empty but when they came up to the next level, they began to find corpses. Turian soldiers, ripped apart by an unknown enemy. They took pictures, scans and trace samples of every dead soldier but Garrus knew that these injuries looked like nothing he had ever seen.

Their weapons were not all empty but they had been shot multiple times. The dead turians had limbs missing, many had their necks broken or had bled to death. It didn't smell, the lack of atmosphere had prevented any decay. The dead looked like they had died just recently. Blue blood was glistening, not because it was fresh but because it was unfreezing.

They hadn't found anymore geth fluid but they found traces of an unknown fluid. Something black, that scanned as part synthetic, part organic.

As they got closer to the CIC, Garrus's omni-tool flared up with a transmission. He was about to ignore it when he saw that it came from inside the ship. He opened it and called over the rest of the team. "I have a transmission here from inside the ship. It says: _Don't open anymore doors, there might still be husks in there. Please help me, I'm in the med-bay._" He looked up. "What are husks? Does he mean geth?"

Everybody shrugged their shoulders. "We have to find this survivor and ask him." Keggs said. With his pistol raised, he moved up the stairs and opened the doors to the CIC level. There were more corpses, as cold as the others. Garrus assumed that the CIC had been vented of atmosphere as well. Apparently only the med-bay had been kept under life-support.

The group walked over to the med-bay, carefully stepping over corpses and makeshift barricades, their pistols raised despite not seeing any threat. The door to the med-bay showed a red panel and the windows were tinted dark. With a nod towards him, Keggs ordered Garrus to access the door and Garrus went to work. The lock had been encrypted but it was a simple algorithm, nothing that a simple cracker program couldn't handle.

The door opened and the familiar smell of sickness and decay assaulted their noses. Two bodies were lying on the beds, one a turian and the other a female quarian. Keggs and Garrus both made a surprised trill, a quarian on a turian ship was unusual. The quarians had a bad reputation in council space after they had lost their home planet to the geth and were forced to live on the resources of other species.

Not many turians would let a quarian live on board. She may have even been a stowaway, not able to afford the passage to the Citadel. Garrus wondered if she was the cause of this disaster, if she had brought something on board. Finding traces of geth and then a quarian was just too much of a coincidence.

Garrus and Dania scanned the bodies. The turian was dead, according to Garrus's scan, for at least two days already. The quarian was alive but exhausted and woke up when Dania touched her shoulder. She jumped up and screamed but stopped as she looked at them, her bright eyes behind her mask huge white circles.

"You're real? Alive? Are the others..." Her head whipped from one to the other, her voice coming in gasps from her speaker.

Keggs stepped forward, looking into her mask without any resentment in his subharmonics. He looked calm, friendly even, and Garrus felt bad for his prejudiced opinion about the quarian. So far they didn't know whether she had anything to do with this.

"What is your name?" Keggs asked. The quarian looked around, her gaze hesitating on Garrus and Lorenzo a bit longer. Then she turned back to the turian in front of her.

"My name is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. I'm on my pilgrimage and on my way to the Citadel."

The boss nodded. "My name is Agent Jentarius Keggs of the Alliance Navy Investigative Service. Can you tell us what happened here?"

The quarian was wringing her hands and lowered her head. "I met one of the Lieutenants, his name is... was Gatius Bicatin, on an ice planet near the Crescent Nebula," she whispered. "We were both scanning for a geth presence there, something that had turned up on the scanners. He was better equipped of course and managed to find the upper half of a geth platform with an intact memory core. That is an incredible find, usually geth self-destruct if the platform is damaged and destroy their memory core. I wanted to make a scan, download the data planetside but the Lieutenant insisted on bringing it on board. The captain allowed me to come too."

"Did it activate and cause all this?" Garrus asked with an accusatory undertone. You didn't just drag geth parts on board a ship, everybody knew that.

"No, it's dead, look, it's right over there." The quarian pointed to a table in the corner, where a box stood that looked like it contained scrapmetal. On closer look it turned out to be the "head" of a geth platform. It was inactive and not connected to any kind of powersource. It still made Garrus very uneasy.

"We met a ship close to the Crescent relay, it looked human built. They hailed us and the captain allowed them to dock with a shuttle in the hangar. And then..." She curled up on herself, pressing her hands against her stomach. After a shaky breath she continued. "Then the shooting started, the squad in the hangar said something about geth and dead humans attacking them. I was in the messhall when the alarms started and then suddenly these things came through the door."

"The geth or the dead humans?" Keggs asked, his voice and subharmonics showing no hint of disbelief.

"No geth up here, just these... not really humans. They looked like they had been humans once, but now there were tubes growing out of them and blue lights on their bodies and in their eyes, and they attacked so fast, just ripping and clawing at the soldiers. They were so fast and so strong and..." A cry came from her speaker and she pressed her arms against her stomach.

"How did you end up in here?" The question came from Lorenzo who suddenly stood between Keggs and Garrus.

"The messhall was overrun and the Lieutenant," she pointed to the dead turian on the bed next to her, "pulled me into the med-bay and shot the husks. He locked the door but he was injured. I tried to help him but he was too badly hurt, the infection spread through his body so quickly, he died yesterday, I think, I don't know, what day is it today?"

Keggs ignored her question. "Who vented the ship?"

"I did," Tali answered, "it took me a while to hack into the VI from the terminal here but I could scan for life-signs and control the life-support system. When I saw that all the turians were dead and the husks kept coming to the med-bay, trying to break the windows, I sealed this room and vented the atmosphere. Lieutenant Sertus had programmed the emergency beacon before he lost consciousness."

Suddenly she jumped up and grabbed Kegg's arms. "The pilot! The cockpit is sealed, she has spoken to me, she told me that we had made it through the relay and that help would be coming but now she doesn't answer any more!"

Keggs turned around, "Garrus, Dania, I want you to check the remaining rooms, see if you can find one of these husks, I would like a closer look at them. Lorenzo, go to the cockpit and find the pilot."

Garrus took his pistol back in his hand. "We are calling them husks now?" He wondered.

A small grin played on his bosses mandibles. "Tali'Zorah has discovered them so I think she gets the naming rights. And I refuse to call them zombies."

Lorenzo shook his head at that. "Zombies don't have tubes growing out of them and blue lights are not their thing. Zombies would be inappropriate as a name." He lectured as he checked his weapon.

Garrus shook his head and followed Dania, who had already left the med-bay. They moved up to the next level, the crew deck. More dead turians with claw marks, body parts ripped off, were in their path. Garrus opened one of the washrooms, checking every corner. Even this room had scorch marks on the walls from fighting. A dead woman was visible in one of the showerstalls, twisted in unnatural ways. Garrus turned away, trying to erase the picture in his mind how her beautiful purple markings were covered with blue blood.

A scream from the hallway startled him and only then did he realize that Dania was not behind him anymore. He barged out of the room and looked down right towards where the scream had come from. Dania was fighting with a husk, backed up against the wall on the other side of the hallway, and holding it away from her with one hand on it's throat, her other hand bashing it with the butt of her pistol. The thing was clawing at her, making rattling groans, it's mouth gaping, trying to bite her arm. Garrus saw pieces of her armor fly away, it was just tearing away the gauntlets on her arm and the pieces that protected her sides.

Garrus knew that he had only seconds before the claws would find flesh, infecting her with who knows what. He was too far away to reach her, so he let his pistol drop and took the sniper rifle from his back, aiming while it unfolded and in the millisecond it beeped it's readiness at him, he took the shot. The husk's head exploded in black fluids and the body stilled and dropped to the ground.

Dania slipped down the wall until she hit the floor, desperately wiping at the black fluid on her face until the red markings were visible again. Garrus ran towards her, fumbling a pack of medi-gel from his pockets. She kicked the dead husks once and then turned to him.

"Thank you. That was a nice shot." Her breath came in gasps. "Really nice shot." She kicked the body once more and then took Garrus's offered hand to raise herself up from the floor. They both looked at the headless thing in front of them. It looked human shaped but somehow transformed. It was dark-grey, with marks that had glowed blue when it had been alive and synthetic tubes visible on it's body. Black fluid was oozing out of the pulp that had been it's head.

"There's another one in that storage room over there, a dead one." Dania said and pointed into the room next to them. "Looks like the room had vented and this thing got stuck on a lever. It suffocated, I think, so it does need air, I guess? That's at least something, they are not undead or unable to die, they need air to breath like all other living beings."

"And a headshot kills them too." Garrus said. "That makes them sort of like living but I have really hard time to consider these things to be living beings."

He took pictures and scans, when suddenly his omni-tool chimed. It was message from Shepard and he didn't hesitate to read it.

- _Hi Angel! I wanted to let you know that I'm okay. Still on comm lockdown, can't tell you anything. We are about to go planetside on Eden Prime. Something weird is going on. Take care, my angel._

Garrus looked around, taking in the dead turians, the scorch marks on the walls, the husk's body in a pool of black fluid and sighed.

_Weird doesn't even remotely cover it, sunshine._

* * *

_I hate those husks, they give me the creeps._

_I'm not using Tali's backstory from the comic, I've only used the name of the relay and that she was on an ice-planet from that._

_Finally edited by Credete. Hurrah!_


	25. Chapter 25

_Thank you all for staying with me, I promise, I'm not giving up on the story. I just have a hard time writing fast, now that the focus is more on the plot than the porn. Plot is so much harder to write._

* * *

As the shuttle turned away from the dead ship, Garrus kept looking at the small quarian. Someone had given her a blanket that she had pulled around her purple suit, her gloved hands clenching in the fabric. It was hard to tell how old a quarian was, the mask covering her face made it impossible to guess her age. Her voice sounded young to Garrus, and the fact that she was on her pilgrimage supported his guess.

Even though he couldn't see her face, the way her body seemed to try to fold in on itself, spoke of the great distress and trauma she had experienced. The girl had seen horrible things and Garrus was sure that they had not heard all of it yet. It was unfortunate that she would have to relive this experience but until the pilot had regained consciousness, she was the only witness they had.

The quarian was fiddling with her omni-tool and Garrus remembered that she had spoken about an intact geth-memory-core. "Tali'Zorah? Did you manage to copy the contents of the geth-memory-core to your omni-tool?" He asked, keeping his voice as quiet and calm as he could.

Still, the girl almost jumped out of her suit in shock. Her white eyes were shining bright behind her purple tinted mask. "Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, I could extract part of it before it burned out. The data is encrypted of course but my algorithm managed to extract a few files so far. One is a map, another is a voice recording."

"Could you transfer the files to me?" Garrus asked, holding his arm with the omni-tool out. She hesitated and Garrus wished again that he could see her face to understand why. He knew that quarians were naturally careful, always bordering on paranoia. They weren't well liked in the galaxy, having fallen out of favor after losing their home planet to the geth.

The frantic escape had left them with very little resources and as refugees they soon were seen as beggars and thieves. The turians especially held some harsh prejudices against quarians. As the only other dextro-amino species in the galaxy, turian colonies were the natural destination for the quarian refugees. Back in those days, the turian Hierarchy had refused to grant them asylum and only reluctantly gave up resources so that the quarians could equip their life-ships.

Resentments from those times still held today. The suspicion that Tali'Zorah displayed against him had probably been ingrained in her from childhood days. Just as it had been for him and every other turian he knew. Quarians were thieves and could not be trusted. That's what he had learned.

But Shepard's influence had made him question his old prejudices, the concepts and ideas he associated with other species. If she could overcome them, he could do it too.

"Would you copy the data over to my tool?" Garrus put as much friendliness into his subharmonics as he could. "I promise, I will not take it away from you."

She nodded and pressed a few controls. Garrus watched his own interface, expecting an acknowledgement of the file transfer. But nothing happened.

"I'm sorry," Tali'Zorah whispered, "it seems the interface protocols of my tool are not compatible with yours. I will have to run an update first."

Garrus sighed. "You said you found a voice file, could you play it for me? And I would like to look at that map you mentioned."

She still hesitated, he could see it in her posture. She didn't trust him. He could not really blame her, she didn't know him and he was a turian.

Lorenzo had watched them from the side and leaned forward. "I would love to hear that voice file too." For some reason, his voice made the quarian relax and Garrus wondered how he did that. The human suddenly took her gloved hand and put his other hand on top of hers. "Nobody is going to hurt you, I promise."

Tali'Zorah nodded and issued a command to her omni-tool. Static hisses sounded out and a distorted voice came up. The file was badly damaged, the words mostly not understandable. But there was something to the voice that gave Garrus chills. He knew that voice from somewhere.

"It's a turian." Garrus stated. "I feel like I have heard that voice before but it's too distorted to be sure. But it's definitely a turian. He is... satisfied, happy, kind of proud of himself."

Lorenzo looked at him with raised eyebrows. "How can you tell? I can hardly distinguish individual words."

"The subharmonics. They sound out our emotions."

Lorenzo nodded at that. "Yes I know, believe me I can tell when the boss is angry by the vibrations of the elevator doors from his subharmonics," he said with a grin, "but I couldn't even hear the subharmonics under all the distortion."

"Must be that superior turian hearing." Garrus stated, watching out of the corner of his eye if his joke would get well received. He was still new in this group and unsure of his status. Lorenzo and Dania looked at him critical for a fraction of a second and then laughed out loud. Tali'Zorah looked from one to the other and Garrus saw some of the tension in her shoulders disappear.

She leaned forward again and put the map on display. It looked unfamiliar to Garrus, he could make out some buildings, and a large, circular area with many buildings and machinery around. A search algorithm could compare it to known places, but since they didn't even have any indicators on where in the galaxy this place was located, a comparable search could take days.

He noticed that the map was shaking in front of him and as he looked up to the quarian, he saw that she was shaking all over. It was impossible to tell whether she was crying behind her mask but the way her body was shuddering, he was fairly certain she was. Dania noticed it too and moved over to sit beside her. She put her arm over her shoulders and pulled her against her. She stilled for a second and then relaxed, faint sobbing coming from her speaker.

"Did I do this?" She whispered. "Did I cause all this by taking the data?"

Dania looked at them before answering, it was clear that she wanted to help but did not want to tell a lie. "We will find out the truth, we will find out what happened." The normally fierce asari looked a bit helpless, trying to give the small quarian the support she needed.

The shuttle slid into the dock and they all stood up when they heard the docking clamps attach. Jentarius Keggs had not said anything on the flight, just stared out of the window. Now he stepped up next to the quarian, his large frame intimidating and protective at the same time.

In front of the elevator at the docks entrance, two turian C-Sec officers waited for them. Garrus wondered who had called them or if they were just here to investigate the ghostship. But then he realized that the ghostship was just this minute being pulled into another dock to get investigated by forensic experts. When they approached with Tali'Zorah, the C-Sec officers stepped in their path and Garrus realized why they were here.

"We will escort the suspect through immigrations and register her." One of the officers said with a harsh snarl in his subharmonics. Garrus studied his face but he couldn't recall if he knew him. The other officer roughly grabbed the quarians arm only to let her go again when he heard the subharmonic hiss that came from Keggs.

"She is not a suspect but a witness." Keggs said.

"We still have to register her, quarians need to be tracked on the Citadel," the other officer whined. "Her omni-tool has to get a tracer."

Keggs growled at him impatiently. "We will take care of that, we don't have time for this now." He started to move past the officers with Tali'Zorah at his side but was stopped by the first officer stepping in his way. Garrus was slightly impressed by his stubbornness, not many turians would stand their ground against the rage that was rising up in Keggs's subvocals.

"I'm sorry sir, but we have to register her at immigrations, it's the law." The officer tried to sound strong but his subharmonics quietly betrayed him, sounding out his fear. Keggs stared at him, unmoving. But the officer didn't back down so that Keggs finally stepped to the side and with a nod allowed the officers to take Tali'Zorah.

They took her between them and led her to the elevator. As the door closed behind them, Garrus heard one of them mumble, "I don't understand why they make such a big deal about that suit-rat."

There was an angry hiss behind him that told him that his boss had heard the remark too. "Garrus, Dania, I want you to get our witness from the immigrations office as soon as they're done with her." Keggs said, already stepping into the next elevator with Lorenzo. Dania and Garrus quickly followed.

At the C-Sec Headquarters level they separated, Keggs and Lorenzo walking over towards the embassies and the ANIS office, Garrus and Dania making their way over to the immigrations offices.

The area was fairly quiet, most people could come and go on the Citadel just by having the id on their omni-tool scanned. Only a few people were called into one of the rooms for further questioning and Garrus had to admit that most of them were quarians and krogans. There was no denying the prejudice against them in C-Sec.

Dania gave him a slight punch with her elbow and when he looked at her she tipped her head towards two turians in C-Sec armor. Garrus recognized them as the officers from the dock. They stood around, looking bored. When they noticed Dania and Garrus looking at them, they nervously clamped their mandibles to their faces. Garrus felt dread rise in him, this did not look well.

"Where is Tali'Zorah?" He asked, stepping in front of them. They looked around as if they expected the quarian to turn up all of a sudden. Finally, one of them looked at Garrus and spoke. "We... we seem to have lost her."

"Lost her?" Garrus couldn't believe what he heard. Dania shouldered him aside and grabbed the turian roughly by the cowl of his armor. She was smaller in size but her anger radiated from the blue glow around her hands.

"You lost our witness?" She hissed at him. "A young quarian, practically a girl, in possession of vital information for our case and you lost her?" Her fists were glowing blue and she pulled her arm back, ready to punch the turian in the face. Garrus stepped up to her and let out a soothing hum. To his relief she reacted and slowly let go of the turian.

Garrus faced the officers and felt himself fall into the familiar C-Sec stance. His subharmonics commanded their attention and they actually straightened as if he was a superior officer. "I want to know exactly where you lost her and what had happened." He growled at them.

"We came out of the elevator and she was right between us and we asked her her name and had her call up her id on her tool." The turian, who had acted so arrogant on the dock now sounded quite embarrassed. "And then suddenly there was a very bright light and when we could see again, she was gone."

Garrus sighed, a light bomb was a very old trick that worked especially well on the light-sensitive eyes of turians. "Did you scan for her?"

"Yes, sir, but she has no tracer on her tool and the suit-rats run their own weird protocols on them, we can't connect to hers and so..."

"So you couldn't find her with a simple id scan?" Garrus snarled. They didn't even put any effort in it. "Did you try calling for her? Maybe she would have answered to suit-rat?" He spat out.

The turians looked at him confused, clearly not seeing what he was getting at. This time, Dania had to calm him down, pulling at his arm and leading him over to the elevator. With a sigh he activated his omni-tool and began scanning the area. Of course, quarians in their enviro-suits never left any traces, having no skin-cells or hairs to shed outside of the suits.

As it was expected, they couldn't find any hint how and where the quarian had disappeared. The area in front of the elevator was wide open and had pathways leading away to all the main areas of the Citadel.

"She could be anywhere." Dania sighed. Garrus snapped his mandibles to his face to keep his teeth from gnashing loudly. Of course she had run away from two turians who called her a suit-rat, probably threatened her and acted just like she would have expected turians to act towards her.

"Where could she go?" He wondered. "She doesn't know anybody on the Citadel and she probably doesn't have many credits on her."

"She would probably look for other quarians." Garrus mused. He tried to remember if there were any places on the Citadel where quarians meet. Few quarians stopped at the Citadel, ever since their embassy had been closed. Their reputation was bad, they were seen as outcasts and thieves. Garrus could not think of any place where he had seen more than four quarians together at the same time.

Dania looked at him expectantly but Garrus shook his head. "Sorry, I have no idea where we she could be. Let's keep looking and I'll ask someone at C-Sec if they heard about a quarian on the run." There probably wasn't any point in asking any of the turians but he wanted to ask Katrina Peters and Berdin Lerv. As a human and a salarian he hoped that they had not yet picked up all the prejudices in C-Sec.

He contacted Peters through his omni-tool and laid out his problem. She answered a short time later, without any new information but promising to look into it with Lerv. Dania and him circled around the immigration area, looking for the purple quarian suit without much hope.

After two times walking around the whole perimeter and asking pedestrians if they had seen the quarian, they gave up. Nobody remembered to have seen her, nobody had noticed her. She was either very good at hiding or people just didn't pay attention to quarians.

Dania sighed. "We're not going to find her around here. If I were on the run like her, I wouldn't stay anywhere close to this place." She said and began walking towards one of the ward exists. "Let's ask around the food courts that serve sterile dextro paste. She will have to eat something at some point."

"Good idea," Garrus said and fell in step beside her. He started to feel comfortable around the asari and she didn't appear quite as dangerous anymore. The determination in her strides reminded him of Shepard and he felt a strange pang of fear in his gizzard that he couldn't explain.

His omni-tool chimed, announcing a call. It was Frank, and Garrus answered it while they kept walking towards the elevators to Zakera Wards.

"Hey human, what's going on?" He asked like he had always done with Frank Johnson.

His friend answered with a snort. "Hey turian. I wanted to meet up with you later but I got a news thing to do, I don't know how long that will take."

"Oh, Mr. Reporter at work," he teased, "what exclusive story have you managed to find?"

Frank let out a laugh, "well, it's hardly exclusive. There's been an attack on Eden Prime and my boss wants me to..."

"Wait, what?" Garrus interrupted him, a chill running down his spine. "Eden Prime?"

"Don't you get the news? The colony has been attacked, the Alliance is somehow involved..."

"Shepard is on Eden Prime..." Garrus voice was more like a whisper and he desperately clawed at the wall for support. His knees felt weak. Dania looked at him suspiciously while she called up news feeds on her omni-tool.

"Shepard is? Oh fuck." Frank said, his voice full of worry. He typed something on his omni-tool and Garrus noticed that he had received coordinates. "See if you can come here, I can show you everything I have. We can connect to all the major news sites from here."

"I don't know if I..." he stuttered, unable to think clearly.

Dania gave him nudge. "Go, take care of things, I'll tell Keggs that you are investigating Shepard's situation. She's part of the team, we want to know what's going on with her as well." She gave him a smile, "and we all know that you have a very personal interest in her well being. So go."

Garrus tried to give her a grateful smile but his mandibles felt frozen to his face. He ran towards a transport hub and jumped into a waiting skycar, punching in Frank's coordinates. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, there was nothing he could do and a panic attack was not going to help anyone. Shepard was a professional, she knew what she was doing.

Still, he couldn't help but check his omni-tool for messages from her, taking note of the date of her last message. He realized that the message had reached him late, it had been queued during space flight until they were close to a comm buoy. There was no other message and that worried him.

He knew that she was soldier, that she was trained for this, but he couldn't help but worry about her.

* * *

Frank let him into the office, shortly putting his hand on his shoulder in wordless support. If anyone knew what he was going through, it was Frank. They both settled down on some office chairs in front of a big terminal. Five screens were projected in front of them.

Three screens showed grainy pictures from security cameras, the other two had news feeds from the two major news stations on the Citadel. The reporters from the news sites had the same grainy pictures running in the background that Garrus saw on the screens in front of him. In other words, nobody knew anything.

Frank fiddled around with the controls and then suddenly stilled. He looked at Garrus, biting his lip. Garrus had never seen Frank so conflicted. "Birdy, I know you can't give me classified information but since you let it slip that Shepard is on Eden Prime, I'm pretty sure that means the Normandy is there. I don't want to get you in trouble but that would be such an awesome story for me, the hero of Elysium on the first human-turian frigate, fighting on humanity's most successful colony... this could be my break, birdy!"

He turned to face Garrus. "Listen, you are my friend and I will help you in any way I can," he said, "but it would be easier for me to justify to my boss that I'm giving out my sources if I could tell him I got something in return. I can offer you all cameras on Eden Prime and don't ask me how." Frank held his gaze and Garrus for the first time became aware of the shift in their friendship, now that they didn't quite work on the same side anymore.

"Let me contact my boss," Garrus said, grateful for the distraction. He had stared at the grainy pictures long enough, knowing that he would not see her on them but still searching for her.

Keggs answered with vid, his mandibles clamped tight to his face. "What?"

Garrus unnecessarily straightened his back. "Sir, I can get access to all cameras on Eden Prime through a friend at the press but I would have to tell him about the things we know." He left the sentence hanging.

He saw Keggs look over his shoulder. "Mirhale, how fast can you get access to cameras on Eden Prime?"

Mirhale's voice came tinny over his omni-tool. "Sir? We would need a warrant first, I don't know how long that will take. And if you ask me to hack into all the networks, apart from that being highly illegal..."

Keggs turned back to his omni-tool. "Tell him what we have. Protect the witness of course and, Vakarian?" His face came really close to the camera and Garrus felt his stare going right into his brain. "Find her."

"Find who, sir, Shepard or the witness?" Garrus asked, feeling immensely stupid.

His boss snarled. "Both!" And ended the call.

Frank looked at him, a grin playing on his lips. "Sounds like a fun guy to work for." He said. "So, what do you have for me? It sounded way more interesting than I thought."

Garrus stretched his throat and began. "I don't have much for you on Shepard but I have something else. But let's begin with Eden Prime. The Normandy was supposed to have it's shakedown run in about two weeks. With luck, I would have been on board by then. But they called it up early, the day before yesterday, saying that it was an emergency."

"An emergency shakedown run?" Frank raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Yes, we both thought that to be very strange." Garrus took a deep breath. "You don't even know the best of it. When they called her, we were having dinner at my place with my parents."

"You're shitting me!" Frank looked like his eyes were about to pop out. "Your parents? With you and Commander Shepard? That's a story I need to... not now but I want to know all about that."

"That's pretty much all I know about the Normandy, I only know that Shepard was or is on Eden Prime from a message I got from her. And that message had been delayed and I haven't heard anything since then." A sad keen escaped from his subharmonics as his chest constricted in fear.

Frank turned back to the screens and put different security feeds on each of them. "Maybe we'll see something if we look at feeds from three days ago. I already saw something about an excavation site where they found some kind of structure." He pointed to a feed that looked like it had been made with an high flying scanner. Independent cameras like that were supposed to work as early warning systems for natural catastrophes or attacks. Some people criticised those cameras as observation systems that put innocent citizens under surveillance at all times.

That Frank had access to these cameras was highly illegal and Garrus decided not to think about how he had managed that.

The camera showed a big, circular area where many people were cleaning a long structure lying in the ground. From what he could see in the frame that Frank froze, it was a long spike. It looked like a stone pillar that had fallen to the ground. Garrus took note of an impressive security detail around the site, not only Alliance soldiers but also asari commandos.

The area looked vaguely familiar to Garrus and it took him a moment to recall where he had seen this kind of setting before. With a gasp he realized where and quickly typed a message to Lorenzo on his omni-tool.

'Check a map of Eden Prime, the excavation site. Does it remind you of the map that Tali'Zorah showed us?'

A minute later the answer came from Lorenzo: 'Yes it does! What the fuck?'

Garrus closed the conversation with a short remark to get back to him later. He returned to the screens with an angry growl that made Frank raise his eyebrows at him. He had just found a connection between the ghost ship and Eden Prime, and he had no idea what to make of it.

Frank sped up the feed from the camera until it passed over the excavation site again. About an hour had passed and things looked normal. They kept looking at the feed, watching the hours pass in a few minutes.

"I'm sorry there isn't more to the story," Garrus said, his eyes staying on the screen, "but I have something else."

Frank tore his eyes away from the screens. "Well, spill!"

Garrus let his mandibles flutter into a smile. "A ghost ship came through the relay this morning."

"Yes, I know." Frank said.

"We went on board to investigate." Garrus kept his voice neutral and watched his friend out of the corner of his eye. "The ship had been under attack." Frank looked up in interest and Garrus let the bomb drop. "We found traces of a geth attack and something similar to zombies."

Frank almost fell out of his chair. "Zombies? Geth? What the everliving fuck?"

Garrus grinned, and for a moment he could forget his worry and watch the astonishment on his friend's face as he relayed the story of the ghost ship. He described the husks in detail, the geth fluid they've found and finally came to the part of finding a living witness.

"A witness?" Frank looked even more excited now. "Can I talk to her? Who is she?"

Garrus let out a sigh. "She's a quarian. We have to keep her identity secret for now, we don't know enough about this case, she might be in danger and... we lost her."

"Lost her?" Frank laughed out. "You lost your only witness? Oh, you've fucked up, birdy." He looked like he wanted to say more when suddenly his eyes snapped back to the screen, "Wait, what was that?" His fingers flew over the controls and the fast video playback stilled. He rewound, on the screen the footage moved backwards until a few pre-fab buildings came into view. Frank zoomed in on the picture, it became more grainy but was still good enough to make out details.

Garrus moved up next to Frank and squinted at the screen. His visor was enhancing and desaturating the picture, and he struggled to get the strange creature on the screen to match with any he knew. He looked closer and suddenly he remembered a picture from history files that he had read back in school.

"That's a geth!" He called out, watching the smooth movement of the machine on the screen.

"What?" Frank asked, his head tilted as if the angle would help him to see the object clearer.

"That's a geth, I'm positive." Garrus called out again. "There's another and there... Spirits, what is it doing?" The camera showed them a geth setting up a shiny object, something like a big tripod. Before they could make out what they would do with it, the camera had moved away and travelled over farm fields. The sounds of annoyance that came from both of them were strangely alike, only one full vocal and the other sub-vocal.

Frank sped up the recording and switched the other screens to recordings from near the excavation site, syncing up the time codes. "They're everywhere! Look, there as well, and they keep setting up these... things."

He kept typing and wiping over the controls, switching out feeds on the screens. Garrus jumped from one to another, trying to see everything. The geth attacked, meeting practically no resistance. Even the security forces seemed frozen, unable to deal with the strange mechanical creatures. The colonists stood no chance at all, they were being slaughtered. For some strange reason the asari commandos had disappeared. Garrus wondered what had happened to them, they at least would probably have been able to fight the geth but he could not see them anywhere.

The camera drone passed over the excavation site again which was crawling with geth and littered with corpses. The geth seemed to clean up the dead bodies and were moving the giant spike. They both looked fascinated at the working geth, they clearly had a purpose and it had something to do with that excavated spire.

Before they could see what the geth did with the object, a flash of light appeared on all screens and all camera feeds were dead.

Frank and Garrus both jumped forward and furiously fiddled with the controls. "What happened?" Garrus asked.

"It's not on our end," Frank said, rewinding the feeds a few seconds, "I had the feeds synchronized, remember? Something has taken them out all at once, planet wide."

"Planet wide? How is that even possible?" Garrus kept checking the feeds at random intervals but they remained dead.

"Maybe an EMP." Frank grumbled. "Must have been something huge. I wish we had sound, there must have been something..."

They both kept staring at the screens, fast forwarding to see if the feeds ever came back. "That must have been the time where the Alliance called out the Normandy," Garrus mumbled to himself, "a planet wide drop in communications, no wonder they were in such a hurry." He typed a message on his omni-tool to ANIS. "My boss needs to know about this, this is big."

"What the hell is going on, birdman?" Frank asked, his eyes still glued to the screens. "Geth? Geth in council space? Add in your story with the husks and that we haven't heard anything from Eden Prime... I have a really bad feeling about this."

The fear came back like a stab in his cowl. The pain wasn't real but the fear and his sub-vocal cries were.

_Shepard. Jane._

Frank put a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, Garrus, really, I'm sorry." He gave his arm a small shake. "Let me know how I can help, okay?" With that he turned back to the controls. "I get something from Eden Prime now, some cameras seem to have recovered, let's see what it looks like... oh fuck."

Garrus hissed through his teeth, the camera feeds that had previously showed them a lush, peaceful colony, now showed a warzone. Most of the prefab-buildings had been destroyed, the whole infrastructure seemed changed. Even roads were destroyed and there were many fires burning.

Thankfully they could not see many dead bodies, but that fact made Garrus strangely uneasy. Something was nagging him about that in the back of his head but he couldn't figure it out.

The camera feeds showed them Alliance soldiers, going through the destroyed buildings with their guns drawn. They obviously still expected problems.

"Look, those things," Frank pointed to the screen that showed one of the silvery tripods, "it is extended now. I wonder what that is." On the screen a soldier placed something at the bottom of the tripod and jumped behind cover. Both Garrus and Frank flinched when the tripod blew up in an explosion. "I guess _they_ don't want to know what it is." Frank said sarcastically.

"Or they do." Garrus grumbled. Maybe these things were too dangerous to keep intact.

* * *

"Hey, Garrus. Hey, calm down!" Frank's voice came to him from far away. He had almost punched him in the face. He was in the gym, punching the big bag, marked "turian". After he had started pacing in Frank's small office, his friend had chased him away and ordered him to work off this energy.

He had lost track of time, and a look on his omni-tool revealed that he had been here, pounding into the bag, for over an hour. It had helped, he did feel better. The fear was still there but it didn't feel like it wanted to burn out of his cowl anymore.

"Okay, I'm okay, sorry," he huffed, puffing out his plates and fringe to cool off, "any news?"

"The Normandy is coming into port."

"When?" He rushed over to his friend. Finally, something was happening, finally he would know. He would know, he would see _her_!

"In an hour. Maybe faster, they could be coming through the relay as we speak." Frank said, taking a hasty step back. Frank was not a small person, but even he flinched away from a puffed up turian coming at him like he wanted to wring the information out of him.

Garrus stopped himself and stepped back. "Sorry, Frank, I'm..."

"Shut up, Garrus, it's okay." Frank gave him a punch on the arm.

Garrus could actually feel that and it reminded him that he wasn't wearing armor. "Let me get cleaned up and..."

"...and we can go to the docks right away. I know you would not want to wait anywhere else." Frank said, turning away and checking his omni-tool.

"Thanks." In times like these you knew who your good friends were. He hurried to the washroom, ran through the shower and was back in armor and outside in record time. Frank was already waiting for him and showed him a C-Sec memo. "The Normandy is just coming in."

"How do you have access to C-Sec memos?" Garrus asked with amusement.

"Ah, you don't want to know, you just don't." Frank grinned at him and turned off his tool.

They walked over towards the docks, and it quickly became clear by the amount of Alliance security and C-Sec that walked in the same direction, which dock they had to go to.

When they arrived, pressed among C-Sec officers, Alliance soldiers, and various news reporters, the doors to the docking bridge remained closed. Around them, camera drones hovered and reporters were typing into their omni-tools. Garrus wondered vaguely how they all had found out so quickly that the Normandy had come back, and if any of them knew what was going on.

As he was just about to ask the person next to him what he knew, the doors opened and Captain Anderson stepped through. The doors closed behind him before anybody could see the Normandy.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the press." Anderson's voice immediately demanded attention and his posture spoke of the authority he held. But Garrus wasn't called an expert on humans for nothing, he noticed the strain in his voice, the nervous tension under his eyes. The Captain looked like he had not slept in a while. "The Normandy has just returned from Eden Prime. Eden Prime has been attacked by an unknown enemy, who has escaped. We have suffered the death of Corporal Jenkins. Spectre Kyrik and Commander Shepard have been injured. They will be taken to the hospital immediately..."

Anderson spoke some more about a press conference to be held and about clearing the area for the hospital transports but Garrus didn't hear him anymore. The blood rushing in his ears drowned out all sounds, and only when Frank punched him in the side did he notice the loud subharmonic cry he made. People around them looked at him and Garrus clamped down on his cries of despair.

The Alliance security and C-Sec began clearing the area. Garrus walked against the tide, Frank behind him, until a gun pointed at his face made him stop. He looked around in desperation, he could not possibly leave. Not now, now that he could almost smell her, almost feel her. Not now when she was injured, Spirits knew how bad.

"Captain Anderson!" He yelled out. He wasn't the only one calling after him but somehow Anderson turned around and his eyes were searching the room until he found Garrus's eyes. There was a hesitation, a tiny pause that already felt like the floor was dropping under his feet, but then the Captain nodded towards the guard. The soldier lowered his weapon and stepped aside to let them through and smoothly stepped in front of the next person who wanted to tag along.

Captain Anderson waved them over, ignoring the shouts of protests from the other reporters. Frank's face was controlled but Garrus knew that he was grinning inside.

"Come here, Vakarian." Anderson said, turning his back to the crowd. "I'm letting you see her because I know she would punch me in the face if I wouldn't. And I think..." The man looked suddenly more like a worried father than a commanding officer. "I think she needs you. Maybe you can help her."

He turned to Frank and his face had lost the soft compassion from a second ago. "But you are from the press, why should I let you in here?"

Garrus tore his attention away from the door that still separated him from his love. "He's my friend, sir. And a friend of Shepard and Nihlus. He..."

"He will not disclose any secrets." Frank spoke up. "Sir, I'm Frank Johnson, I'm new at this job and I surely don't want to fuck up my chances. If you want to keep the mission a secret, then I will only be here as a friend. But as you can see by the crowd over there, there aren't really any secrets on the Citadel. Let me make a report and you will have full control over what I publish. The truth will come out whether you like it or not but I can offer you that nothing will slip without your approval."

Garrus could see in Anderson's face that the passionate speech had won him over, but he hesitated for a few agonizing seconds before he nodded. "Very well, Frank Johnson, looks like this is your lucky day."

With a few strides he led them back through the doors and onto the docking bridge. Frank was still thanking the Captain when the doors closed behind them and the noise from the commotion on the other side suddenly stopped. He could now see into the short docking entry of the Normandy. Two stretchers hovered in there, along with two humans with activated omni-tools watching over the injured on the stretchers.

There it was again, that fear, that pain.

Garrus wanted to run towards the stretchers but Anderson held him back. "Listen, son. There was a working piece of prothean technology on Eden Prime, something like a signal booster, a beacon. Shepard came in contact with it..."

His brain caught up with the words. "Prothean?"

Anderson looked him in the eyes and Garrus could see how worried he was. The fear in his gizzard felt like a burn.

"Yes, prothean. It made contact with her, touched her mind somehow. We don't quite know what happened but she screamed something about death and then fell unconscious. She has woken up occasionally, but she didn't know where she was and didn't recognize anyone. And what she says doesn't really make sense either." Anderson's voice had gotten quieter and quieter. His grip on Garrus's arm made his knuckles turn white, and would have been painful without armor.

Garrus hummed in in fear. "Are you telling me that she has lost her mind?"

"We don't know. Dr. Chakwas can give you the details but she thinks that she somehow got lost in her own mind." Anderson pulled on his shoulder to make him look at him. "Talk to her, son, be her guide. I know how close you are, I saw how she looked at you." Anderson turned his gaze back to the stretcher. "I know this girl and she is the bravest and strongest woman I know. She has chosen you and I hope you know what a treasure that is."

"I do." Garrus whispered. _Sunshine, what happened to you?_

Anderson looked at him again and Garrus recognized the desperate plea in them. "Maybe if she hears your voice, it will guide her back. Just.. talk to her, give her something that she remembers."

"I'll try, sir, I will do anything." Garrus said, moving over to the stretcher. "What about Nihlus?"

Anderson flinched. "Nihlus has been shot. In the head. That's him on the other stretcher."

_Nihlus has been shot in the head?_

Frank spoke up, Garrus had completely forgotten that he was there. "What happened to Spectre Kyrik?"

The female human, who was obviously in charge spoke up. "He was shot in the head and is in critical condition. I would like to have them both transported to the hospital right away."

Anderson spoke over his internal comm to someone and then nodded towards the doctor. The stretchers started to move out, the one with Nihlus on it first. He was almost not recognizable, his head covered with bandages and a breathing mask. The other stretcher moved behind it, a male human next to it with dark hair. He looked up to Garrus and waved him over.

"I'm Kaidan, Kaidan Alenko. I wish we could have met under better circumstances." He held out his hand and Garrus took it without looking at him. He could finally see her and his eyes would not leave her face again. "Shepard spoke a lot of you, I hope... I hope you can help her."

He finally pulled his eyes away from her and saw the guilt on Alenko's face. "What happened?" He growled out, harsher than he had intended. They were moving through the empty hallways, cleared by security and finally entered the elevator.

Kaidan raked through his hair. "It was my fault. She pushed me away from the beacon and it caught her. It should have been me who..."

"Stop blaming yourself," the doctor called over harshly, "Shepard did what she had to do and nothing will change that." She turned to Garrus. "Hello. My name is Karin Chakwas, I'm the chief medical officer on the Normandy." She extended her hand and Garrus shook it, noting her firm handshake.

"Let me tell you what I know," she continued, moving her omni-tool over Nihlus's body. "They are both stable. I have sedated them to ensure a safe transport. Nihlus has been shot in the head and I cannot make promises to his recovery. I will know more once I can use the hospital's equipment. As for Shepard..." she sighed and raked through her hair in a similar fashion as Kaidan had done. Garrus knew that this was a typical movement for humans in distress. "Physically she is fine. It's her mind that is the problem." She looked up to Garrus. "I really hope that your presence will have an effect on her but please, don't expect any miracles. We know nothing about that prothean force and how she can recover from it."

In a striking turian move that reminded him of his own mother, she placed her hand on his mandible to cup his face. "I'm very sorry, dear. I will do everything I can to bring her back. Please, have hope, be strong for her."

His voice was rough and his subvocals sang out a quiet tune when he answered. "Thank you, I will."

He moved to the side of her stretcher and took Jane's lifeless hand into his. He lowered his head so that his mouth was right next to her strange ear. "I'm here, Jane, I'm here." He knew she would not answer because she was still sedated but he still hoped beyond reason that he would see some kind of reaction.

She remained still and the burning pain in his chest made him whimper.

* * *

_Sad chapter ending is sad. We all have to be strong now._

_Thanks to Credete for editing. You would not believe how much time we spend on forwarding versus fast forwarding. And there isn't even real tape involved!_


	26. Chapter 26

_Just a short little chapter this time, since we all want to know what happened to Shepard._

* * *

"Vakarian. Garrus Vakarian, wake up!" Dr. Chakwas's voice seemed to come from far away. Garrus startled awake with a gasp, almost jumping to his feet. It took him a second to realize that he was in the hospital room, at the bed where Shepard slept in her sedated state. He had fallen asleep in the chair, next to the pile of his upper armor. It had been two days since the Normandy had pulled into port.

Two days had passed where Dr. Chakwas had tried to wake Shepard every few hours, only to sedate her again when she began screaming. Garrus had talked to her, yelled, anything to make her hear him but she had kept on screaming, her head whipping around, her eyes unseeing and wide in panic. Only when the sedatives kicked in again did she look normal for a second. Garrus held on to that fleeting look that he might have imagined when her eyes met his and were not filled with utter panic, just before they rolled into the back of her head.

It pained him like a knife in his gizzard to see her like that. He had tried to distract himself with work, running all over the Citadel with Dania, trying to find the quarian Tali'Zorah. He had thought that he had done a good job, but after a few hours the director had called him up and ordered him to stay with Shepard, so that everybody else could actually get some work done. Garrus had been surprised by her understanding, a turian leader would never allow himself or his subordinates this much sentimentality.

After initially getting some strange looks, he was now an accepted presence in the hospital room, mostly thanks to Captain Anderson. Garrus had heard the exchange in front of the door. They had not realized that he could hear them.

"Captain Anderson?" That had been Alenko's voice, the Lieutenant who had been with Shepard on Eden Prime. "Can I ask you about the C-Sec officer at her side, Garrus Vakarian?"

"They are in a relationship. What else is there to know?" The captain answered. "I was hoping that his presence would help her, and he... I'm sure he needs to be here."

"Permission to speak freely, Sir?" There must have been an acknowledgment from Anderson because Alenko continued. "Are you okay with that? I'm sorry, Sir, I..." The Lieutenant's voice was flustered and Garrus could almost see him raking through his hair.

"It is hardly my place to judge, is it?"

Alenko answered with his voice strong again. "With all due respect, Sir, I think it is. You are almost like a father to her, and wasn't Vakarian supposed to be assigned to the Normandy too? Would the Alliance accept her having a relationship with him, a turian nonetheless?"

At this point Garrus had to clamp down on his subharmonics, to not growl out his anger.

"As far as the Alliance is concerned..." Came Anderson's voice booming through the closed door, "Right now I'm the Alliance, and I surely don't have a problem with whom she chose as her partner. And Alliance regulations are only concerned about superiors taking advantage of subordinates, we don't have a problem with established relationships."

Dr. Chakwas voice came up, quiet amusement in her tone. "But you did have a thorough check run on him."

"Of course. Very thorough." Garrus could hear the slight grin in Anderson's tone before his voice became harsh again. "Do _you_ have a problem with him being here? Or with him being a turian, Lieutenant?"

"No, Sir. But I know several people in the Alliance that would have a problem and I just wanted to know where you stand, Sir." Alenko said.

The conversation had ended at that point and Garrus wondered what Alenko was really thinking about him. He had not noticed any resentments from him but he decided to look at him a bit more critically.

He realized that Dr. Chakwas was speaking to him. "... see an improvement."

"I'm sorry, doctor, could you run that by me again?" Garrus stretched his neck, trying to loosen the strained muscles.

The doctor raised an eyebrow and patiently repeated what she had said. "I have been monitoring her brain waves constantly and something is changing. We still don't know what exactly is going on in her head but it seems like she manages to fend off the foreign wave patterns that I have seen since she came in contact with that beacon. I actually see an improvement."

Garrus looked at Shepard, she appeared to be sleeping, just like she had the whole time the doctor had kept her sedated.

Dr. Chakwas put a hand on his arm. "I want you to talk to her. I am going to monitor what happens when you do."

"I've been doing that, doctor," Garrus mumbled, "I talked to her but nothing changed." He knew that he should not give up hope but it still tasted like failure in his mouth. His love, his mate, helpless and trapped in her own mind and he could not help her.

"I just told you that it did change something," Chakwas scolded him, "so keep doing that. Talk to her, sing to her, anything. Her brain waves change when she hears your voice. I'm letting the sedatives flush out of her system and I want your voice to guide her back." She ushered him back to the chair next to the bed. "This isn't a fairy tale, Vakarian, but there is still hope."

Garrus wasn't quite sure what a fairy tale was but he settled back into the chair that he had spent the most of the last two days in and took her hand in his. He tried to think of something to say but his mind was blank.

"Shepard, I'm here, I... I..." A frustrated trill left him. "I don't know why I can't find the words. I have so many things I want to tell you..." Another trill with a low hum came from his gizzard. It was easy to express his feelings in his subharmonics but it was near impossible to find the words.

"Do that again." Dr. Chakwas ordered from her terminal.

"Do what again?"

"That subvocal hum. I see an effect in her brain wave patterns." Dr. Chakwas eyes did not leave her screen and her hand waved an impatient pattern in the air.

Garrus suddenly felt self conscious. Subharmonics were usually uncontrolled, subconscious expressions. He had a bit of trouble to make them as his main expression now. He leaned forward and hummed.

"Yes, good. Keep going." Dr. Chakwas stepped over to him and scanned Shepard with her omni-tool. "I know this is awkward, Vakarian. I wasn't joking when I suggested that you sing to her. Turian singing uses subharmonics as a second harmonic voice and it looks like those have an effect on her."

Garrus wondered how this human doctor knew so much about turians. She turned to him and smiled. "I'm the leading medical expert on turians in the Alliance. I'm fairly certain that Spectre Kyrik owes his survival to my knowledge and abilities."

Garrus acknowledged her explanation with a nod, he was quite impressed. While asari doctors were known for their interspecies studies, he had never heard of a human doctor being an expert in a non-human species.

Of course, singing on cue was just as hard as speaking on cue and it took him a little while until his brain came up with the melody of a recent hit song from an asari-turian pop band. He was botching it at first, but he slowly got the sub-harmonies settled and added the rather stupid lyrics with his main vocals. Garrus had never been in a singing class but he had been complimented on his singing voice before. He actually managed to do quite well on this song.

Dr. Chakwas smiled at him, encouraging him onward while she continued scanning over Shepard's body. For long, agonizing minutes nothing changed. Garrus started the song over, more confidence in his voice this time and laying more power in his subharmonics.

The hand, that he held in his, twitched. He noticed it before he even heard the sharp intake of breath from Dr. Chakwas. She frantically typed something on her omni-tool, while she nodded to Garrus to continue.

Another twitch, a flicker from Jane's eyelids. Her hand suddenly grabbed his with all her strength. It was almost painful. Garrus steeled himself for another attack of nightmarish screaming spasms like they had experienced the few times before when Dr. Chakwas had tried to wake her.

Garrus kept singing the stupid song, the words meaningless, his subvocal hum carrying the tune. It was different his time. She did not spasm, she did not heave in air to scream it out again as loud as she could. Her eyelids fluttered and her breath was calm. She still held his hand, her grip strong but not painful anymore. Garrus let himself hope that finally, this time, she would really wake up.

When her eyes opened and locked onto his, he was relieved to see them as normal as they had always been. The few times before, when she had opened her eyes, a greenish light had shimmered in them and she had not seen anybody. This time, her eyes had the familiar greyish-blue tint that he knew.

She looked at him and the song got stuck in his throat. She tried to speak but her throat seemed to be sore, no wonder after all the screaming she had done before. She began coughing and Dr. Chakwas helped her to sit up. Her hand never left his.

Finally, her throat was clear and her voice was only slightly raspy when she spoke to him: "Hey, my Angel. You're here!"

Garrus's subharmonics trilled out whole songs of his happiness. "Yes, I'm here Sunshine, Spirits, I'm so glad you came back." He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers.

"I heard your voice, I heard you sing," she whispered, "was that an old song that your mother sang to you when you were young?"

"Spirits, I wish I had thought of that." Garrus chuckled, his forehead still on hers. He had no intention of changing his position soon. "It's just a current pop song from an asari-turian band. They sing about how they can't share food and how unfair that is."

Shepard burst out laughing and behind him he heard Dr. Chakwas quietly snicker to herself. "Well, it was the most beautiful song I have ever heard." Shepard said, still laughing. "You should sing more often."

"I'll do anything, Jane, anything for you." Garrus blurted out before he could stop himself. He wanted to pull away but she did not let him. Her hand had creeped up to the back of his head and she was holding his head with her hand under his fringe. Her soft lips met his mouth plates and he felt himself fall into the world of only her and her kiss.

A soft cough from the doctor made them break apart. "If I could get access to my patient now, I need to run some more tests on her. I'm glad that you are back with us, Shepard, but I have to make sure that it stays that way."

"Of course." They both said in unison, slowly pulling apart until only their hands were still touching.

Dr. Chakwas passed her omni-tool scanner over Shepard's head. "Can you describe what you saw, what happened when the beacon touched you?"

Shepard let her head fall back on the pillow. "Touch is a good word, it felt like something touched my mind, injected thoughts directly into my head. It's like a vision, that takes over my mind." She squeezed Garrus's hand harder. "It feels like it's supposed to be a warning but I don't understand it, it's many pictures, coming way too fast and too bright. It felt like my head would burst from the amount of information."

"How does it feel now?" Dr. Chakwas asked.

"Like I locked it up in a box. When I think about it the pictures, they all come rushing back..." She suddenly pressed the palms of her hands against her temples and let out a choked scream. Garrus searched her eyes for that terrifying green glow but they stayed normal. With a sigh she relaxed and let her hands drop again. "But I can push it back into the box now." One hand found his and he squeezed it reassuringly.

With a gasp she tensed. "Nihlus! What about Nihlus?" She asked, the grip on his hand so very tight.

"He has a good chance to survive with almost full functionality of his face." Dr. Chakwas said, pulling up charts on her omni-tool. "I had to use extensive cybernetics to repair the damage. That will look a bit rough unfortunately, I had to use the resources the Normandy had, which wasn't much. Luckily I had stocked up on turian synth-blood and dextro-transplants, but the cybernetics were originally not meant for facial reconstruction."

"What about... brain damage?"

"As far as I can tell, he might have trouble with the movement of his arm and leg on his right side. As for other injuries..." She paused, looking over the charts on her omni-tool again. Garrus appreciated that she was precise and truthful in her statements, he had never liked it if doctors told patients that everything would be fine when it was clearly not.

She looked up from the display and looked first Shepard, and then him in the eyes. "The scans do not indicate any problems concerning memories, speech or personality. But brain damage is still an area of medicine where we can't really predict anything. I expect him to wake up fairly soon, and then we will know more."

Shepard's face showed her relief. "So you think he has a chance to recover?"

Dr. Chakwas showed a small smile on her face. "Yes, I think so. But I can not guarantee..."

"Of course not, doc, I understand. I think his condition should remain a secret for now." Shepard said. Garrus wondered what the point of this secrecy was.

Dr. Chakwas nodded. "Captain Anderson agrees, he has already put a ban on any news about Spectre Kyrik's condition."

"Alright doctor," Shepard threw the cover to the side and attempted to sit up but fell back on the bed, "whoah, dizzy. Doc, I can't work like that."

"Good, I wouldn't let you anyway." Dr. Chakwas said with a friendly smile that did not hide her stern look at all.

"But doc...!"

"No, my dear, you are on bedrest for at least another 10 hours. You will rest, you will sleep naturally without the aid of sedatives, and then I will examine you. Then - and only then - will we talk about the conditions of your release from my care."

Shepard clenched her fists in frustration. "But doc, I really need to..."

"Yes, I know, you really, really need to do something, and knowing you, after a few minutes someone will probably shoot at you. You are in no condition to fight and that's final." Dr. Chakwas's voice was friendly but firm, and any other retort that Shepard wanted to make, died when the doctor raised a finger and looked at her sternly.

Shepard made a huff of frustration but settled back under the thin blanket, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Garrus had to suppress a giggle, she looked so much like a pouting child, she actually reminded him of his little sister. Only without mandibles.

The doctor walked towards the door. Before she left, she turned around and fixed Garrus with a look. "Vakarian? You have ten more minutes to talk to her and then you need to leave. Commander Shepard needs to rest."

"Yes, ma'am." Garrus answered, involuntarily straightening.

As the door closed behind the doctor, Shepard pulled him back for another kiss. He felt her soft lips again, he had almost forgotten how wonderful they felt. Her tongue dipped against his and his subharmonics hummed in bliss. Her hand stroked under his fringe and her other hand traced the plates on his cowl. Her tongue tangled with his and he managed to wrap his own around hers. The feeling was overwhelming, he wanted to drink her in, press her body to his and finally feel whole again.

With a raspy sigh he left her mouth and pressed his forehead to hers. This move had become so natural to him, as if they were truly bonded already. His scent released before he could stop it. "Jane, my shining sun. I... I missed you so much..."

"I missed you too."

"I thought you were injured or dead, I was so worried."

Shepard chuckled quietly. "I'm hard to kill, you'll see. I'm like weeds, you can't get rid of me."

"I would never want that."

"Me neither." She whispered, pressing once more against his forehead.

Garrus held his breath to stop himself from yelling out his happiness. Only a trill sang out from him and every turian in close proximity would have known exactly what he meant.

She laid her head on his cowl and sighed. "I have so much to tell you, I don't even know where to start."

"I saw footage from Eden Prime with Frank, I saw geth and that spire they moved." He spoke into her hair, careful not to tangle up his mandibles in it.

"That was the beacon that put these visions into my head. So the geth had moved it? I had wondered who did that." She leaned back on the bed and her face showed exhaustion and pain.

"We saw it on the camera footage, just before some kind of EMP took all cameras out planet wide."

"I have never before seen a geth in my life and we had no intel. We lost... I lost Jenkins. A geth turret just mowed him down." She stared at the ceiling and Garrus could see a tear forming in the corner of her eye. "He was just a kid, Garrus, and he had been born on Eden Prime! He was on his home planet, had hardly taken ten steps and... end."

Garrus just held her hand, knowing that he could not say anything to make her feel better.

"And then we ran into geth and these... zombies -"

"Husks. We call them husks."

"How... what?" Shepard looked like she had swallowed a bug.

"Lorenzo educated us that zombies are different, and Tali'Zorah had called them husks, so we settled on that name." Only after he had said it he realized that Shepard had no idea what had happened while she was on Eden Prime.

"Garrus, what the fuck are you talking about?"

Garrus sighed, time was running out, Shepard looked very tired and there was so much that they still had to tell each other. "Why don't you finish your part of the story first and then I will tell mine. Let's just say that I know what husks look like, trust me." His subharmonics vocalised the shudder that went through him.

She still looked at him confused but continued talking. "Alright, we ran into these... husks and geth and we picked up another soldier, Ashley Williams. Good shot, she was a life-saver. The geth killed the people and then put them on these big pointy things, and when they came down, they had turned into husks, it was horrible." She closed her eyes for a second.

"And Nihlus, fucking Nihlus! I'm so mad at him, I would punch him in the face if he had not gotten it shot off already." She punched the mattress once before looking up in guilt.

"Sorry, that was a horrible thing to say but, damn! Before going groundside, we get a hazy transmission from Eden Prime, and we see this ship that has strange protruding arms in front. It reminds me a little of the ship he showed us as Saren's, but it's hard to tell."

She raised her finger. "So what's the first thing Anderson does? Scan's the database for that ship, of course. What does Nihlus do? Twitches his mandibles and starts to suit up. No question as to what kind of ship it is. I'm sure he recognized it but he didn't say anything." Her forehead had settled in deep frowns, her eyes showing anger and worry at the same time.

"So we go groundside and Nihlus goes alone! Gnarls something about working better on his own and jumps out ahead of us. Why the fuck would he do that?"

Garrus shook his head, "As a Spectre that might be true..."

"Yeah, but it's still stupid. And it pisses me off!" Shepard suddenly took hold of his hand again. "We made our way to his position, husks and geth all over the place and there was this shot... we found Nihlus on the ground, blood everywhere." She shuddered at the memory and her hand clenched around his. "He was dying. The back of his head... a witness told us what the other guy looked like..."

He stared at her. "And?"

"It was Saren."

"No." Garrus whined out in disbelief. "He is his teacher, his mentor, his friend even..."

"Who else would Nihlus turn his back to?" Shepard said, her voice very quiet. "And the ship, and Nihlus's strange behaviour... how many white turians come to _your_ mind?"

"Futuo! How can he do that? To Nihlus, his student, his friend?" Garrus felt horror creep up his spine, to betray a friend, cowardly shooting him when his back was turned... no proud turian would ever admit to such a thing.

Shepard kept on talking quietly. "I called the Normandy back and Dr. Chakwas took care of him while we ran after the geth and Saren, we found the beacon and it glowed green."

Garrus remembered the green glow he had seen in her eyes but decided not to mention it.

"Kaidan came too close to it, it pulled him towards it and I pushed him away and... well, it caught me instead." Shepard grinned sarcastically. "What a brilliant move on my part."

Garrus assured her with a hum. "That's part of your job, isn't it?"

"That's part of the job-description? That I have to catch all mind-fucking, green-glowing beams? Nobody told me!" She smiled at him and Garrus felt warm happiness spread in his gizzard. He had missed her smile.

Garrus went over everything she had told him. "So you are keeping Nihlus's condition a secret because you want Saren to think that he killed him?"

"Yes, I want to see and hear how he reacts, when I tell him that Nihlus is dead."

Garrus nuzzled her hair, making her giggle a little. "At C-Sec we say that humans are the best liars in the galaxy."

"Oh, and I'm the best of the best!" She grinned at him. "You should have seen me, lying to Miss Lacroix why I could not possibly do my homework!"

They both laughed and Garrus felt like something that had held his mind in a crushing grip for the last days, finally broke. He laughed and hummed with her and for a while they stayed silent, her head under his mandible, just smiling.

Her face turned serious again. "There is something else that's bothering me."

"Really?" Garrus let out a sarcastic snort. "In a story with geth, prothean beacons and turian betrayal, something is bothering you?"

"Yeah, I know." Shepard made a weak smile and let her eyes fall down. "Just think about the picture. Saren Arterius, the Council's best spectre, standing maybe two metres behind Nihlus. He aims for his head..."

Garrus hissed through his teeth. She was right, the picture did not work. "He wouldn't have missed."

"Exactly, he wouldn't have. But he did shoot, just a little to the side. Why? Did he change his mind? Did he hesitate at the last second?" Shepard let go of his hand to scratch the back of her neck and winced at the strain that put on her shoulder.

She yawned and smiled at him sheepishly. "I guess Dr. Chakwas was right, I'm really tired."

"I'm surprised she hasn't shown up and kicked me out yet." Garrus flared his mandibles at her in a smile and hummed. He was sure that she understood the feeling of relief he sang out for her. Her smile warmed him up inside.

Shepard took his arm and placed it over her shoulders. With a sigh she settled her head into the crook of his arm. "Now tell me your story. And make it exciting or else I'll fall asleep."

Garrus smiled down at her. She needed sleep and nothing would make him happier than having her fall asleep in his arms. He kept his voice low and calm. "So, after you left and I had taken care of my parents for a day, I went back to ANIS. We got called out to investigate a ghost ship, I went over with Keggs, Lorenzo and Dania. It was cold and empty, the atmosphere was vented and..."

Her breathing had gotten light and even; with one look at her and the readout from his visor he saw that she had fallen asleep. He stopped talking and only hummed for her. This time he hummed the melody of an old song that his mother used to sing when he was still a little boy. He could not remember the words but the melody flowed easily from his subvocals.

A little smile played on her lips as she sighed in her sleep. He knew that he should lay her back on the bed but he couldn't. Not when he finally had her back.

He would not let her go.

* * *

_Fluffy reunions are fluffy. We all needed that, right?_

_Poor Credete had to give up on sleep again to edit this chapter. This time I added too many commas. I don't know how that happened._


	27. Chapter 27

_Vacation over! This chapter came to life in pencil on paper at the beach in Denmark._

* * *

Garrus returned to Shepard's side after hours of briefing and debriefing. Multiple directors, bosses and former bosses wanted to know about the attack on Eden Prime and the ship that had arrived at the Citadel with the husks and geth-traces on board. Director Schaefer of ANIS had decided with Captain Anderson to keep Nihlus's status a secret, but to freely give out all other information. This was probably as much a show of goodwill as it was simple desperation, nobody had any idea how the attack on Eden Prime and the empty ship with the husks and geth-traces were connected. By throwing the information at everyone, hopefully someone would come up with an explanation.

So far the the latest consensus agreed that the husks on Eden Prime and the ones on the security vids from the ship were of the same kind. Since they had seen them being made on those metallic spires on Eden Prime, someone had to have brought them on board the ship. The traces of geth fluids and the witness report they had managed to get from Tali before C-Sec had "lost" her, linked that job to the geth.

The Citadel was in uproar. The geth! In Citadel space!

It took only about an hour until the first special geth-protection programs appeared on the market and traders began advertising their weapons as geth-killers. Security firms and mercenaries advertised themselves as bodyguards against geth attacks and people began hoarding supplies and weapons.

C-Sec formed a special task group to deal with the panicked calls from people all over the Citadel who were convinced that there was a geth lurking around in the maintenance tunnels. It always turned out to be a keeper. One of the many ancient robots, who was doing it's job of keeping the Citadel clean and intact, unimpressed by the poor C-Sec officer who had to chase after him.

Garrus was pretty sure that the Council was not happy about this development, the Council had always preferred to keep things secret as long as possible. This new way of freely giving out information was not their usual way of handling things. In other cases, the Council had only given out information when they had been forced by some news leak. A whole line of investigative reporters lived on the secrecy that the Council tried to hold up.

Yet another human change. Garrus wondered if they even realized how much they changed and how much some people hated that.

Garrus looked at Shepard's sleeping face, her mouth pressed into the pillow, slightly open. Salvia was wetting the pillow. She had called it drooling once and had been quite embarrassed about it. He didn't understand why, but he had noticed that humans had a tendency of feeling embarrassed about bodily functions that they had no control over. Humans tried to control everything, a whole line of implants was designed to control hair growth for instance. They were willing to infuse their bodies with tech in ways that before had only been known by the quarians.

She moved in her sleep turning her body around. He smiled, watching her curl herself into the cover. No wonder he needed his own blanket, she was wrapping herself up completely.

Garrus returned to the program on his omni-tool, changing a few parameters and then watching the variable returns for expected and unexpected results. He felt himself slip into the zone of concentration that he loved so much, just concentrating on little parts of the program, fitting things together and testing them. It was soothing work.

He was so deep in his zone, that he didn't notice for several minutes that Shepard was awake and watching him with an amused smile.

"Hey," she said with her smile lighting up her face, "what has you so concentrated?"

"Just an update to a game I released a while ago. I had promised to update some stuff but it kind of fell off my list." Garrus added a few comments to remind him where he left off and closed the program. When he looked up, Shepard was staring at him.

"You released a game?"

"Yes, a while back but I'm still adding things to it. It's just a hobby. I have a few people following my site for it and they had gotten worried because I had not updated in so long." Her dumbfounded look made him grin.

Shepard still stared at him, her mouth open. She realized it herself and snapped it shut with a smile. "You made a game?"

"More than one, actually. It's a hobby. But this one is my biggest." Garrus started the game on his omni-tool to show her the title screen of 'Wandering Lights'.

"Wow." Shepard looked at the picture with delight but then looked up at him with a strange expression that Garrus could not quite interpret.

"What?"

"I just realized that I don't really know you." She said. "I mean I know you... but I don't really _know_ you."

She was right, he thought, they had stumbled into this relationship with faster-than-light speed, driven by desire, curiosity and a feeling of belonging. But they really did not know much of each other.

"Well..." He wondered what he should tell her.

"Let's change that, show me this game of yours." She raised the back of her bed so that she was sitting upright and leaned against his shoulder. Garrus was slightly annoyed that he had not taken off his armor.

He pulled up some screenshots from the game and a file where he had roughly outlined the, admittedly flimsy, storyline. "It's a labyrinth, you play a turian hero that has to find his or her way through it and I made up riddles and puzzles that you have to solve to open doors and such. And there are monsters of course, those you have to fight. I read through some old legends and designed them to look like the monsters in there." He showed her pictures of the monsters, he was quite proud of the design and it had taken him a long time until they looked like that.

"That looks very cool!" Shepard said as she flipped through the screenshots and design models. "What does the hero look like?"

Garrus showed her the character screen of the male and female version, and told her about the algorithm he wrote that let the hero improve during the game and the logic puzzles and riddles he made up. It had been a while since he had someone to talk about his game besides his sister, and Shepard looked absolutely fascinated. He talked about his ideas and the story, and she asked questions and made suggestions. He had never had someone like that, who loved to hear him talk about his game like that.

She smiled up to him. "Can I play it?"

"Sure, I can just transfer it to your tool."

"You are giving this away for free?"

"I am, but I sold the first version, the base game, for a few credits while I was still at school. I actually made a little money with the game, I was so proud of that. The game was part of a graded project at school and I was pretty good at developing. After basic, I wanted to get an apprenticeship at a game developer but..."

"Why didn't you?"

"The Vakarian clan is known for their soldiers and police officers. Serious occupations that support the Hierarchy." His subharmonics hummed out a sad tune.

Shepard took his hand. "Making entertaining games..."

"...does not support the Hierarchy like it is expected of a Vakarian." Garrus continued.

Her thumb was stroking the softer skin between his fingers. "So you went to C-Sec instead."

"I actually wanted to stay in the military, go into information analysis and cyberwarfare." He said, still looking down at her strange little fingers stroking his hand.

"Would that have been acceptable?"

"For the clan? Yes, but not for my mother. She lost a brother on a pirate patrol in the Terminus Systems and she is terrified that she would lose me or my sister in an attack. So C-Sec was the most acceptable position and my sister is an engineer at Armax Armory."

"Is C-Sec that much safer than the military?"

"Not really, but for my mother it is." He took her hand up to his nose to nuzzle it, taking in her scent. He wanted to take her in his arms but he was not sure how well she was.

Shepard leaned forward and placed a kiss on his forehead. It was a strange gesture, like a mixture between a turian forehead touch and human kissing. His subharmonics sounded out the shudder that went through him.

"That explains what she said to me." She murmured.

"What did she say?" Garrus asked.

"First she asked me how serious I was. I had the distinct feeling my life depended on the correct answer for that." She smiled up to him. "I guess my answer was okay or else I wouldn't be here. Then she made me swear to take care of you and to protect you. She said something about not stopping you from choosing your own way again, that she had done that before and it had been a mistake."

"That's what she said?" Garrus was surprised, his mother was always very private and not known to say personal things to someone like Shepard, who was basically a stranger.

"Not quite those words but it was clear what she meant. I think she feels that you were unhappy and... she wants you to be happy, that was obvious." Shepard gave him a crooked smile. "I may not be quite the expert on turians like you are on humans, but I'm pretty sure I know what she meant."

A warm feeling spread in his gizzard and he pressed his forehead against hers, spreading his scent on her. "She said that she likes you."

"She did?" Shepard pressed her forehead against him. "I'm so glad." Her hands went to the back of his head, softly walking her fingers under his fringe. When she found the hidden bundle of nerves and rubbed it, a not so quiet moan left him.

"That's not fair." He mumbled, his subharmonics buzzing in need.

"I know, I'm sorry," she chuckled, "but I love the sounds you make when I do that."

His hands went to her sides, stroking down to her waist. He knew that the waist was not the same erogenous zone for humans as it was for turians, but Shepard was soft all over and loved his stroking everywhere. To touch her waist like that had more of an effect on him for it's sexual implications than it had on her but she still threw her head back and breathed in with a sigh when he touched her.

"The files never mentioned the waist as a special zone for humans." He whispered in her ear.

"It may not be for other humans but I know what you mean," she whispered back, "and that's what makes it hot."

Garrus was simultaneously cursing and thanking his armor as it was successfully hiding his arousal now, his plates loosening up rapidly. He began looking around the room, knowing that he could not have sex with her in a hospital room but still secretly entertaining the idea. She pressed her face against his neck, kissing and nibbling the softer skin she could reach. A growl rose from his sub-vocals, his hands roaming her back.

Some sensible part of his brain reminded him that the fantasy of bending her over the bed and taking her now was not the wisest plan in their current situation. His hands clenched around her waist as he nibbled along her throat. He fluttered his mandibles against her skin and found her lips, loving how she willingly opened them for him, tilting her head back in a turian sign of submission. He wondered if she knew what she did to him with that gesture. A growl was shuddering through him, heat rising up his spine.

The doors opened and in stormed some human, all energy, constantly talking, laughing and throwing two long arms around them in a crushing embrace. Garrus felt disoriented, his lips still pressed against Shepard's and receiving kisses on his mandible from this stranger while Shepard giggled against his mouth.

The blond man was constantly talking. "I'm so glad you are alright, baby, and you, her wonderful hero are here with her and aren't you just fabulous, she told me so much about you, I'm sure you have no idea how crazy she is about you, I'm so happy to see you both, oh baby, are you okay? What happened, they wouldn't tell me anything, but you woke up and it looks like you were about to get it on right here, so I guess that's a good sign, ah, maybe I should leave..."

Shepard laughed out against Garrus's lip plates and released them. "Hello Svend, good to see you, no, you don't have to leave. This is not exactly the time and place..."

"We got a bit carried away, I guess." Garrus mumbled. He turned his head which brought him in kissing distance with the blond man, his skin even paler than Shepard's, and his eyes of an almost electric blue. He was grinning at him and made no move to change his position.

"Hm, I never kissed a turian before..." The human purred suggestively.

Shepard pushed him back with her hand on his chest, a friendly smile on her face but her eyes firm. "Yeah, you're not starting with this turian, girly."

"Of course not, baby, I would never..." He rose and stepped back.

Shepard leaned back against her bed. "Garrus, this is Svend, we've known each other for a long time. He was on Elysium and fought with me against the batarians there."

Garrus remembered the face from the news-vids now, framed by blond hair but he looked different. There was some kind of paint around his eyes that made his blue eyes look more dramatic.

The human smiled widely and held out his hand for Garrus to take. Garrus stood up and took the offered hand. His grip was firm and he shook Garrus's hand enthusiastically. "Svend Lee, very nice to finally meet you. Sorry for interrupting... whatever you were trying to start here."

"Garrus Vakarian and it was probably a good thing that you interrupted us." He stepped to the side to give him some space to talk to Shepard but the door opened again and Kaidan Alenko walked in.

"Oh, I didn't know that you had so many visitors." Alenko said, stopping in front of the door. "I'll come back later." He turned around and left again.

Svend kept staring after the Lieutenant even after the door had closed behind him again. "Baby, who was that hot piece of booty?"

Shepard grinned widely. "Oh girly, that biotic booty is Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko."

"Biotic booty?" Svend's eyes got so wide that Garrus was afraid that they would pop out of his head. "I'll see you later, baby." He said absentmindedly and ran to the door.

"Go get him, girly!" Shepard called after him and then fell back against the bed laughing. "Poor Kaidan has no idea what's happening to him."

"Why do you call him girly?" Garrus asked.

"Oh, Svend doesn't believe in gender. When I met him first, he called himself Svenja and dressed like a girl, frilly dresses and the brightest colors possible. Drove the Alliance nuts because he refused to give himself a gender. About a year ago he decided to be Svend again but I've always called him girly so I keep doing that."

"And he calls you baby..." Garrus was pretty sure that that expression was an endearment among lovers, if he remembered his lessons correctly.

"Yes, he always does but don't worry about it, I'm not his type, never was. He's into guys, men like Kaidan." She said, taking his hands into hers again.

Garrus sat down again. "And Kaidan?"

"Kaidan is pretty open minded, as far as I know. Not that I know much about his sex life but I have seen him leave a bar with men or women before, and with an asari as well." Her fingers were stroking the skin between his fingers again. "He keeps these things very much separated, just like a good Alliance soldier should." She looked up to him. "Kaidan and I kissed once, we were very drunk but it never went further than that. You don't have to worry about him, there is nothing going on between us."

Garrus let out a breath he had not realized that he had been holding. How she knew that he had worried about her and Kaidan, he did not know. He had not even been aware of it himself. He didn't understand what was going on with him, he had never been jealous before.

Shepard kept stroking and rubbing the skin between his fingers, her eyes following the movement. He watched her four digits, almost disturbingly slim and small compared to his two long fingers. "There is only you, Garrus, I hope you know that. I was never a shy girl but I'm not fucking around."

"I know." Garrus said. his voice strangely rough. "I mean, I'm still glad to hear it but... yeah, I... I mean... it's the same for me." He leaned down and caught her lips with his own. She leaned her head back and he let a talon softly scrape down her throat. Her tongue mapped the inside of his mouth, tangling with his own tongue and they both moaned.

With a sigh they broke apart, only their foreheads touching. Shepard said out loud what he thought himself. "This will have to wait."

"Yes, I know." Garrus said.

"When Chakwas let's me go, I want to speak to Nihlus if possible. Do you know how he is?"

"Dr. Chakwas said that he woke up a few hours ago and he knew who he was and what had happened." Garrus said with a happy trill in his subharmonics. Only the worry and the relief about Shepard's situation had distracted him from the fear he had felt for his friend. Dr. Chakwas had been genuinely happy when she had told him about Nihlus's recovery, he did see it in her face.

Shepard's feet were twitching and Garrus found it very amusing how her whole body was radiating impatience. "Gawd, I hope the doc let's me go soon, I can't sit around here anymore, I need to do something. I need to talk to Nihlus, and the Council, and the Alliance. I hope I don't have to talk to the press..."

"That might actually not as bad as you think because Frank is the main reporter for this case."

"Frank? Your Frank?"

"Yes, he talked Anderson into letting him be the official reporter for the Alliance." Garrus said. "Or is it ANIS? It's confusing..."

Shepard smiled at him. "Believe me, you're not the only one. I'm never quite sure who I am reporting to."

"The boss and director Schaefer asked about you, Dr. Chakwas had to send them hourly reports about your status." He watched her head fall back against the pillow and brushed her hair back from her face.

Shepard raked one hand through her hair, letting the short strands slip through her fingers. "Did my hair grow already? I think the doc had to turn off my implant."

Garrus tried to remember if the strands had been shorter but he could not say. He wondered what it would feel like if her hair was longer, how the bundles would slip through his talons.

The door opened and Kaidan entered with Frank in tow. Kaidan looked absent minded and Garrus heard Shepard quietly giggle. "Hey, Lieutenant, attention!" She called out in her Commander voice. Kaidan automatically snapped to attention and then looked slightly embarrassed. Shepard laughed out, "Oh boy, you've met Svend, haven't you? Your hair is all puffy."

Kaidan tugged his fingers through his hair and his olive skin turned a shade red. "Yes, he's... very energetic."

"Oh yes, he is." Shepard said. "But he's a good guy." She waved him over and gave him a light punch on his arm. "You better be nice to him."

Kaidan let his head hang and his face turned even redder. He coughed. "Captain Anderson wants to see you as soon as Dr. Chakwas sets you free. The doc will be with you soon, how are you feeling?"

"I feel fine, Kaidan."

"Headaches?"

"No, no headaches, and I also slept quite nicely." Shepard had placed a hand on Kaidan's arm and it occurred to Garrus that she was saying these things for his benefit. He remembered that Kaidan had blamed himself for her situation.

Kaidan looked relieved and turned to leave. He nodded to Frank and Garrus and gave Shepard a friendly salute. Shepard's smile fell from her face as the door closed behind him. She murmured, "I'm sure that wasn't the last time I heard about that." She seemed lost in thought but then focused on Frank and smiled at him. "Reporter Frank! Where is your hat and the notebook and pencil?"

Frank grinned at her and placed himself on the footend of her bed. "Well, Commander, I had asked about that myself but they just threw a bunch of programs on my tool and kicked me out into the Citadel streets."

"But the hat, Frank, I'm sure you could totally work the hat!" She moved her hands to her head as if she was placing something on top of it and pulled something down in front. Garrus was completely lost but Frank obviously knew what she meant, making the same kind of movement over his head. They both giggled like kids and he had to admit that he felt left out. There was so much he did not know about her and her human history.

She took his hand and turned his attention to her. "I have to show you what kind of hat we mean, it looks cool." She turned back to Frank, her hand still holding his. "Well, Mr. Reporter, you want to ask me some questions?"

Garrus wondered if he should leave but she kept holding his hand as she answered Frank's questions. Her fingers were still too slim and small in his hand. And still just right.

* * *

"What aren't you telling me, Nihlus?" Shepard's eyes were thin slits, barely controlled anger radiating from her. She had been cleared by the doctor to get up and start working again and the first thing they did was visit Nihlus. After a few friendly questions, Shepard had run straight into the core of the problem, asking Nihlus about his strange behavior. He clearly did not want to talk about it.

"Please, Shepard..." Nihlus sighed. Dr. Chakwas had cleared him for visitors but it was obvious that he was still not well. Half his face was covered in bandages and his whole left side was set in an orange glowing omni-brace. "I can't tell you."

"Can't tell me what?" Shepard growled out. "You knew, didn't you? You knew he was there!" She began pacing back and forth in the small room. With an angry glare she pointed a finger at Nihlus. "Why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't and I can't tell you." Nihlus answered with his subharmonics sounding out anger. "Unlike humans, turians tend to follow orders!"

Shepard stopped her pacing and stared at Nihlus. The hurt on her face was obvious and Nihlus already sounded out a quiet apology. But her expression was quickly replaced by the neutral look that Garrus had come to call her Commander-look. Her face turned hard and unreadable, polite interest covering up any emotion.

Her voice was cold when she spoke. "Of course. Then I guess that is all, Spectre Kyrik. I have to make my report to the Alliance now." She turned around and left the room.

Nihlus let his head fall back on the pillowroll. "Futuo. Now I pissed off the best friend i have ever had." The sounds from his subvocals spoke of the pain he was in, caused by his injuries as much as by the fight with his friend.

Garrus thought about the position he was in, unsure where he stood in this game. He decided to get to the bottom of this mess. He trilled at Nihlus to get his attention and to tell him that he was there for him. "The Council ordered you to keep the information secret?" He asked with his best investigator voice.

Nihlus head snapped around. "What would you know about that?"

Garrus let a smug grin play in his subharmonics. "We know that Sparatus protects Saren out of some obligation to his brother Desolas. So he probably ordered you to keep all information to yourself."

Nihlus growled in annoyance. "_Damna stercus_. So I pissed her off for nothing, great."

"Shepard understands orders."

Nihlus sighed. "Yes, but she wouldn't have followed them to the letter. She would at least have given me a hint in her place." His hand went up to the bandage, feeling around the wound. Two spines of his fringe had been shot off and he felt around the stumps with a sad hum. "Maybe if I had told her about Saren's strange message, I wouldn't look like a crooked garlef now."

"He sent you a message?" Garrus leaned forward and automatically set his omni-tool to record.

"It was the strangest message ever," Nihlus said, "and let me tell you, Saren is not exactly known for his flowery letters. It was a vid-file and he looked so strange. He has even more ports and amps on him, he looks half-machine by now. He told me to stay away from Eden Prime at first, and then suddenly he spoke of something entirely different and ended the vid mid sentence." There was a hum in Nihlus's subharmonics that spoke of his worry for his friend.

Despite what Nihlus had said about Saren before, calling him an ass and other things, his subvocals told of friendship and admiration for the older Spectre. Garrus wondered how close Saren had let Nihlus come, how much friendship he had allowed himself.

"When you saw him on Eden Prime..." Garrus let the question hang, an old investigator trick to get someone talking.

"I knew he was there, I knew it as soon as I saw that strange ship on the transmission. When he showed up on the platform, I wasn't even surprised. He told me some stercus about the Council ordering him there but I knew it was a lie. I always know when he lies." Nihlus hummed quietly in sadness. "You should have heard him, he spoke so sure and calm but his subharmonics - they were drifting."

Garrus tried to imagine the famous Spectre sounding out confusion like that and failed. In some way Saren Arterius was still the hero from his childhood, ruthless, strong and unfailable.

Nihlus's voices had become very quiet by now. "I knew something was wrong but I never thought... I was his student, maybe even his friend... I never would have thought..." He keened in sadness. "I turned my back to him, I trusted him! I heard him move his arm and I guess I took a step to the side... maybe... Saren would normally not miss a shot like that..."

"That's what Shepard said too. We wondered if maybe he hesitated?"

"I wondered about that too, believe me, but I thought that maybe that's just wishful thinking." He turned his head to look at Garrus, his green eyes full of sadness. "He shot me. He shot me when my back was turned, me, a friend. I just can't..." He looked away again and his subharmonics sang out in pain.

Garrus stayed with Nihlus in silence, just quietly humming for him until he fell asleep. Shepard had sent him a message that she had debriefed Captain Anderson and had a meeting with the Council next. Her next message contained some explicit curse about the Council and where they could shove their fringes, tentacles and horns, and to meet him at the ANIS office.

At the office he found Shepard at his desk, her feet on the table and her head leaning on the back of a human chair. Her eyes were closed and she was gently snoring. He let himself slide into the turian chair next to her and watched her. She looked relaxed, calmer than she had looked all day. There was a new scratch on her cheek that had already closed and begun to heal. He wondered what other injuries she had on her body, her soft skin so malleable to cuts and scratches, but healing so fast.

He lightly brushed over her cheek with the back of his finger, enjoying the silky smoothness. Her eyelids began to flutter and she woke up with a sharp intake of air. For a second she looked disoriented but then her eyes settled on him and filled with so much joy that it almost hurt to look at her.

"There you are." She whispered, her hand raising to cup his mandible. She let her feet fall to the floor and leaned forward, closer to him. Her thumb was stroking over his lip plates and she smiled at him. Spirits, how he loved her smile.

He pulled himself back into reality. "So, the meeting with the Council did not go well?"

Shepard pulled her face into a grimace. "You could say that. They didn't believe anything besides the geth being on Eden Prime. Saren was there too, via vid-conference, and that smug bastard acted like I shot Nihlus and somehow fucked this all up." Her hands were clenching in her lap and a deep scowl had formed on her forehead.

"Did he say why he was there?" Garrus asked.

"No, and they didn't even ask him about that. He was acting all superior, dismissing the witness and everything I said. If we don't find some evidence, they will just let this case drop."

Garrus brushed over the frown on her forehead with the tip of his finger but it didn't go away. "Did you tell them about the prothean beacon?"

Shepard sighed. "I did tell them that it touched me and that I fell unconscious but I didn't tell them about the vision. I didn't want to give them more that would make them label me as crazy."

"But it might be important."

"We'll see, I'll tell them when it comes up again. I didn't want to give out too much information while Saren was there, there was something about him and the projection..." she began fiddling with her omni-tool and Garrus got impatient.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Wait, here, I recorded it, look at him and listen, isn't his voice strange? I think I have a pretty good ear when it comes to turian voices and something is wrong there." She held out her arm and played the recording. The vid was at a strange angle because she had left her arm hanging and the sound was a bit tinny but he could still understand everything that had been said.

"The Council doesn't allow any recordings, you know," he mumbled.

"Yeah, the Council can kiss my shiny ass after all this." She snarled back.

Garrus chuckled and kept listening. "You're right there is something... his subharmonics, they aren't transmitting correctly. There's only part of them and they are drifting."

"Drifting?"

"Yes, we call it drifting if the subvocals and the mainvocals don't match, if they say different things. It is usually a sign of insecurity or lying. In severe cases it is a symptom for a mental illness. Nihlus had said it too, when he spoke to Saren, his subharmonics were drifting."

Shepard looked pained and Garrus took her hand in his. "Nihlus is sorry by the way, he never meant to hurt you. He was ordered to secrecy by the Council."

"We both know who gave that order. It pisses me off but I can't really blame him for that." Shepard said quietly. "I'll talk to him later." She leaned back and folded her hands behind her neck. "What now, Garrus? We have nothing."

"Not nothing."

"Not something either," she said, "we have geth on Eden Prime and geth traces on this ship of yours, we have zombies on both..."

"Husks." Garrus interrupted, trilling a grin at her.

Shepard rolled her eyes. "Fine, fucking husks then. We saw how they were 'made' on Eden Prime," she shuddered, "did you find these silver spires on the ship?"

Garrus shook his head.

"So they've brought the husks with them. We don't know how those two things are connected but something about it makes me think they are." She scratched her neck, leaving reddish marks on her skin. "What about the quarian with the geth memory files? How does she fit in?"

Garrus sighed. "I'm not sure. But from what I read about geth, they are all connected, they have one shared mind. So the data Tali had downloaded from the geth core could contain information about the attack on Eden Prime. There was a map that looked very much like the excavation site where the prothean beacon was found. And she played a sound file that was severely corrupted but I'm sure it was a turian speaking, I could hear subharmonics, he was content and sure of himself."

"You sure it was a male?" She asked. "Could it have been Saren?"

"It could be. We would need to clean it up some more to get a voice match."

"Pauly could probably fix it so that it sounds like an opera singer sang it, she can do magic like that."

Garrus sighed again. "We still need the file for that and so far we could not find the quarian who hopefully still has it."

"Do you think she would sell it?" Shepard asked with wide eyes.

"Why not? I'm sure she could use the credits and the Shadow Broker would probably pay quite well for a file directly from a geth memory core." He said, grumbling in his subharmonics.

Shepard looked thoughtful. "Dealing with the Shadow Broker could be dangerous and we don't know if Saren doesn't have any agents on the Citadel. If that's him on that voice file, he will do everything to get his hands on it, to make the evidence disappear."

Garrus nodded. "And he would not hesitate to make a quarian disappear as well, if necessary."

"Shit."

"Yes."

"We have to find her, Angel." Shepard cupped his mandible again and looked at him seriously.

Garrus leaned forward and softly placed his forehead against hers, onlookers be damned. "I know, Sunshine." He hummed quietly. "Did I tell you already how glad I am to have you back?"

Shepard chuckled. "No, I don't think you have." He could feel her smile.

"Well, then I'll have to do that sometime." He grinned and turned to the terminal. He heard her laugh out and she punched him on his shoulder, which he did not really feel through his armor. But he felt the weight of her leaning her head against him as he began searching for traces of the quarian in C-Sec reports.

* * *

_Yeah, it's a bit shorter, I'm trying to get the next chapter out quickly for you. Things will get moving now._

_Edited by Credete._


End file.
